EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Children: Protection

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what guidance he has issued on the application of the provisions of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 to chaperones of children involved in performances under  (a) formal and  (b) informal arrangements.

Parmjit Dhanda: holding answer 26 June 2007
	The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 which will be implemented from autumn 2008 provides the legislative framework to help prevent unsuitable people from working with children.
	Child chaperones will be covered by the requirements of the Act if they are supervising, caring for or offering advice, guidance or instruction to the children and they do so frequently or intensively. This includes both paid employees and volunteers. The requirements of the Act do not extend to parents, so a parent chaperoning their own child taking part in a performance will not be affected by the new requirements.
	An individual who is barred under the new scheme will commit an offence if they seek to engage in this activity and an employer will commit an offence if they seek to use such a person.
	The Government will be issuing guidance next spring in preparation for planned implementation from autumn 2008.

City Academies: Sponsorship

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what tax relief can be claimed by sponsors of academy schools on £2 million contributions.

Jim Knight: Where an academy sponsor makes the payment wholly and exclusively for the purposes of their trade and does not receive a capital asset in return, they are entitled to a deduction in their business profit and loss account. As academy schools are charities, any sponsorship payment that could not be claimed as an allowable expense would normally qualify for tax relief as a charitable donation. Payments made to academy schools by educational charities would be treated as charitable expenditure by the sponsoring charity.

General Certificate of Secondary Education

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many GCSEs are a  (a) GCSE short course,  (b) GCSE double award,  (c) intermediate level GNVQ,  (d) GCE AS-level,  (e) GCE A-level,  (g) BTEC,  (h) NVQ,  (i) level 2 basic skills certificate,  (j) level 2 key skills certificate,  (k) Cache Foundation Award in Caring for Children and  (l) international GCSE considered to be equivalent for the purposes of GCSE performance tables.

Jim Knight: A short course GCSE is equivalent to half a GCSE. A GCSE double award is equivalent to two GCSEs, an intermediate GNVQ equivalent to four GCSEs, an AS level to two GCSEs. A levels and international GCSEs are not included in the Key Stage 4 Achievement and Attainment Tables. Other qualifications can vary according to the subject. Complete information on the equivalence of all qualifications used in the Achievement and Attainment Tables is published by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority in the National Database of Accredited Qualifications at
	http://www.ndaq.org.uk/

Home Education

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to collect information on the number of children educated at home.

Jim Knight: We do not collect information about the number of children whose education is arranged by their parents and we have no plans to change this. A recent study on the prevalence of home education in England, conducted by York Consulting estimated that there were around 16,000 children being educated at home that were known to the local authority. We have not made any estimate of the number of home educated children that are not known to their local authority.

Specialised Diplomas

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many employers have participated in the development of the  (a) Construction and Built Environment Diploma,  (b) Engineering Diploma,  (c) Creative and Media Diploma,  (d) Land-based Environmental Diploma,  (e) Business, Administration and Finance Administration Diploma,  (f) Hospitality and Catering Diploma,  (g) IT Diploma and  (h) Manufacturing and Produce Design Diploma.

Parmjit Dhanda: Exact figures for each DDP are not readily available. Each DDP has consulted with around 1,000 employers, meaning that for the first phase, 5,000 employers have participated in the development process. The same process is being used for the development of the phase 2 Diplomas, and this will involve similar numbers.
	It must be stressed that this number is based on the number of employers that have actively responded on Diplomas via forms/email/ or one to one telephone conversations.

TRANSPORT

Railways: Brighton

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the future of rail services from Brighton to Ashford International over the next five years.

Tom Harris: Provision of these services is a contractual requirement of the Southern franchise. They will continue. The Southern franchise is due to be re-let from December 2009. There will be a further opportunity for consultation at that time.

Railways: Chelmsford

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps are being taken to reduce overcrowding on trains between Chelmsford and Liverpool Street Station.

Tom Harris: The Secretary of State announced on 14 March 2007 that the high level output specification, to be published in the July, will include a commitment to a thousand extra carriages. They will be targeted at the most congested routes on the network.

Speed Limits: Cameras

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he plans to monitor the change in the number of fixed speed cameras resulting from the new guidance effective from 1 April.

Stephen Ladyman: As from 1 April the deployment of safety cameras has been a local matter and the number of cameras will therefore be a local decision. The Department plans to monitor the general activities of the road safety partnerships but will not centrally hold the number of cameras.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Carbon Emissions

Norman Baker: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission if the House of Commons Commission will adopt a policy of carbon neutrality; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Harvey: The Parliamentary Estate Energy and Water Saving Policy is reviewed every two years and is next due for review later this year. The latest government sustainability targets which included the target, 'Central Government's office estate to be carbon neutral by 2012', were announced in June 2006 and will be considered when making the review.

Flowers

Norman Baker: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission 
	(1)  what the total  (a) volume and  (b) value of flowers purchased by the House was in each year since 2001;
	(2)  what  (a) type and  (b) country of origin of the flowers purchased by the House for use in (i) banqueting facilities and (ii) other areas of the Commons Parliamentary Estate was in the last calendar year for which figures are available.

Nick Harvey: Some details of costs of flowers purchased are only readily available for the last four years following a change in the accounting system in 2003. No record is kept of volumes of flowers purchased by the House. The cost of flowers purchased for banqueting is recharged to the customer with the appropriate margin. The value of flowers purchased is in the following table.
	
		
			   Banqueting—cost of flowers for resale  Catering outlets  Public areas  Total other areas  Total cost of flowers purchased 
			 2000-01 — 7,497 — — — 
			 2001-02 — 8,378 — — — 
			 2002-03 — 8,801 — — — 
			 2003-04 13,922 9,457 15,862 25,319 39,241 
			 2004-05 14,886 11,513 13,727 25,240 40,126 
			 2005-06 12,676 9,477 20,077 29,554 42,230 
			 2006-07 16,513 10,825 20,674 31,499 48,012 
		
	
	No record is kept of the type or country of origin of flowers purchased for use in the House of Commons, banqueting facilities or other areas.

Palace of Westminster: Repairs and Maintenance

Jim Dowd: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission for how long the Commission expects Commons Court to be used for contractors' buildings.

Nick Harvey: The programme of large maintenance projects in the Palace of Westminster indicates that Commons Court will be required for contractor accommodation for the foreseeable future. It is currently being used by contractors for the Press Gallery refurbishment project. Planned works include the roofs programme and mechanical and electrical service modernisation programme.

Parliament: Security

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission 
	(1)  whether there are any plans to replace the visitor stickers issued to visitors on the Parliamentary Estate with another form of temporary pass;
	(2)  what steps are being taken to address the littering caused by discarded visitor stickers in and outside the immediate vicinities of the Parliamentary Estate; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what steps are being taken to address the environmental impact of discarded visitor stickers on the Parliamentary Estate.

Nick Harvey: The main step being taken to reduce the environmental impact of discarded visitor stickers is for them to be removed by the contract cleaners and receptacles are provided at exit points for the stickers.
	Parliament's cleaning contractor has been instructed to remove all discarded stickers in the immediate vicinity of the Parliamentary Estate, including the Portcullis House colonnade. The company also cleans the area within and including the Corus barriers to the West of the Palace of Westminster. The contract manager has been reminded of the need for frequent cleaning.
	A new access control system for the Parliamentary Estate will be introduced in the autumn. Part of this project is to introduce an improved Visitor Management System, which is currently in development. The intention is to provide a paper visitor pass clipped to the person instead of the stickers used at present.

Parliament: Security

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission how many visitor stickers were used on the Parliamentary Estate in each of the last 12 months.

Nick Harvey: An estimate of the number of visitor stickers used on the Parliamentary Estate in each of the last 12 months based on number of visitors counted through search points is in the following table.
	
		
			   2006  2007 
			 June 102,896 — 
			 July 108,080 — 
			 August 114,161 — 
			 September 119,778 — 
			 October 92,730 — 
			 November 94,911 — 
			 December 45,853 — 
			 January — 75,691 
			 February — 72,312 
			 March — 85,491 
			 April — 62,853 
			 May — 92,463 
			  Note: These figures are based on numbers provided by the Metropolitan Police using counting devices at search points. The counting device at Norman Porch is proving unreliable due to an ongoing technical fault, so Visitors Tour figures have been used instead. There may be a slight under-estimate due to Members or Peers guests using Norman Porch who will not be included in the Visitor Tour figures.

Television

Jim Dowd: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission how many television licences are held across the Commons Parliamentary Estate.

Nick Harvey: The Parliamentary Estates Directorate holds one Multiple Form Television Licence for all the private residences on the Estate.
	Black Rod's residence
	Staff Superintendent's residence
	Serjeant at Arms' residence
	Office Keeper's residence
	Head Office Keeper's residence
	Senior Office Keeper's residence
	Clerk of the House's residence
	Speaker's Housekeeper's apartment
	Speaker's Secretary's residence
	The Lord Chancellor's House
	The Speaker's House
	22 John Islip Street
	The working areas of the estate are currently exempt from requiring a licence because buildings used by and occupied by Government or Parliamentary employees do not need a television licence for televisions used for official purposes.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Departments: Consultants

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department spent on  (a) management consultants and  (b) other external consultants and advisers in each year since 2000; and which of these consultants undertook work for the Department with a total contractual value in excess of £10 million over this period.

Gareth Thomas: The total spend on consultancy contracts by the Department for International Development (DFID) since 2000 is as follows:
	
		
			  Total spend on consultants 
			   £ million 
			 2000-01 284 
			 2001-02 273 
			 2002-03 274 
			 2003-04 270 
			 2004-05 276 
			 2005-06 255 
			 2006-07 270 
		
	
	This includes both consultancy to deliver parts of the aid programme where services are often provided to third parties such as recipient Governments, and consultancy to DFID as an organisation. It does not include all low value contracts issued by DFID Departments and overseas offices, of which there are no consolidated records. We do not hold a central record of spend of management consultants as a separate category. These figures therefore contain spending on all types of consultancy.
	The following table provides details of consultants, work undertaken and total contractual value in excess of £10 million.
	
		
			  Consultant name  Case title  Country  Contract  v alue (incl. amends) (£) 
			 ActionAid Support to the International Partnership Against Aids in Africa Africa Regional 20,136,150 
			 Adam Smith International Ltd. Strengthening Counter Narcotics Institutions of Afghanistan Afghanistan 12,709,007 
			 Agresso Ltd. ARIES—Implementing partner/software supplier United Kingdom 13,366,063 
			 Arcadis BMB Eastern Cape Provincial, District and School Development Programme South Africa, Republic of 15,768,778 
			  Consultancy Services to Act as Basic Services Fund Secretariat Sudan 16,249,638 
			 ATOS Consulting Ltd. Financial Management Reforms Programme Bangladesh 20,593,617 
			 British Council (UK) Security, Justice and Growth Programme Nigeria 27,802,647 
			  Support to Universal Basic Education Nigeria 15,289,715 
			 CARE International UK Manusher Jonno Programme Bangladesh 12,686,874 
			 Charles Kendall and Partners Ltd. Procurement Service Provider for Integrated Provincial Support Programme 2 (IPSP2) South Africa, Republic of 13,372,432 
			  Procurement Service Provider for the HIV/AIDS and Health Multisectoral Support Framework South Africa, Republic of 18,190,000 
			 Chemonics Promoting Opportunities for Poor People through a Commodity and Service Markets Programme Nigeria 15,137,223 
			 Control Risk Group Armed Protection Team Iraq 11,733,383 
			 Deloitte and Touche South Africa Consolidation of Municipal Transformation Programme South Africa, Republic of 13,100,000 
			 Emerging Markets Group (EMG) Ltd. Management Company for Business Linkages Challenge Fund United Kingdom 19,145,190 
			 Family Health International Strengthening the Response to HIV/AIDS (Implementation Phase) Nigeria 21,013,815 
			 Futures Group Europe Ltd. Implementation of the HIV/AIDS Prevention and Care (HAPAC) Project, Phase III Kenya 19,546,347 
			 Health Partners International Ltd. Reviving Routine Immunisation in Northern Nigeria Nigeria 18,665,000 
			 Helm Corporation Ltd. Managing At The Top—Public Service Capacity Building Bangladesh 13,062,188 
			 HLSP Ltd. Support for the Partnership for Transforming Health Services Nigeria 50,966,606 
			  Strengthening Support for Care and Mitigation of HIV/AIDS Zambia 10,319,603 
			 HTSPE Ltd. Support to the State and Local Government Project Nigeria 25,338,471 
			  To Manage a Programme of Advisory and Support Services for Rural Livelihoods Department DFID Non Specific Country 14,968,990 
			 Maxwell Stamp plc Chars Livelihoods Programme: Concept and Management Bangladesh 46,592,246 
			 Natural Resources International Ltd. Forestry Research Programme Management Contract Global (Non Project Specific) 10,466,281 
			  Crop Protection Research Programme Management Contract Global (Non Project Specific) 15,576,427 
			 Population Services International Support to Promoting Sexual Health, Reproductive Health and HIV/AIDS Reduction Nigeria 52,800,000 
			  Advice on social marketing for Insecticide Treated Nets (SMARTNETS) Tanzania 14,888,605 
			 PricewaterhouseCoopers State Owned Enterprises Restructuring and Enterprise Development Project—China China 11,512,869 
			 The Crown Agents for Overseas Governments and Administrations Ltd. Humanitarian Services Contract Global (Non Project Specific) 11,853,115 
			  Humanitarian Services To DFID and the Post Conflict Reconstruction Unit United Kingdom 11,729,000 
			 University of Edinburgh (CTVM) Animal Health Research Programme Management Contract United Kingdom 11,067,000 
			 WSP International Ltd. PEC: Bangladesh Institutional Development Component 3 Bangladesh 13,976,682

Departments: European Union

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many officials in his Department are  (a) involved in assisting European Council negotiations,  (b) involved in assisting and advising the European Commission,  (c) seconded to the European Commission,  (d) involved in monitoring EU decisions, communications, regulations and directives,  (e) involved in enforcing compliance with EU decisions, communications, regulations and directives and  (f) involved in other work related to the European Council, Commission or Court of Justice.

Gareth Thomas: DFID has a core department of 21 staff working exclusively on European Union (EU) aid policy and implementation. This includes one post in the United Kingdom Permanent Representative to the EU (in Brussels). DFID also fields 18 seconded national experts, of which 17 work directly with the Commission in Brussels and one with the current presidency. A small number of additional DFID staff have been seconded to European Commission delegations in Africa. In addition, a variety of other departments in DFID deal with specific issues to which EU policy is relevant, including: trade, migration, aid effectiveness, climate change, and preparation of the EU-Africa Strategy. None of these other departments are exclusively EU focused. DFID does not have a mandate for enforcing compliance with EU decisions.

JUSTICE

Prisons: Costs

Simon Hughes: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice what the average annual cost of a prison place is in  (a) each prison establishment,  (b) privately-run prisons and  (c) publicly-run prisons.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The figures provided are for 2005-06 and are taken from HM Prison Service Annual Report and the Office of Contracted Prisons Annual Report.
	 (a) The establishment costs per place are listed as shown.
	 (b) The average cost per place of the private prisons is £33,722
	 (c) The average cost per place of the public prisons is £28,486.
	The costs quoted for privately-run and public prisons are not directly comparable, because of different financing structures and differences in services funded by other Government Departments. The public prisons' costs quoted are the direct costs of each establishment and exclude Prison Service headquarters, depreciation and cost of capital charge on land and buildings, major maintenance and rates. The private prison costs are the direct cost of each establishment, including controllers and exclude depreciation, cost of capital charge/credit, repayment of capital, and rates.
	There are also a number of factors which affect the costs of prisons and so comparisons must be made with caution. These factors include: the size of prison, its age, its design, the occupancy level, the prison security level, the type of prisoner and the activities carried on in the prison.
	
		
			  Public prisons costs per place 
			  Establishment  Cost (£) 
			  Male category B prisons (8)  
			 Albany 23,190 
			 Garth 26,284 
			 Gartree 23,477 
			 Grendon 27,591 
			 High Down 26,670 
			 Kingston 31,359 
			 Parkhurst 33,961 
			 Swaleside 21,111 
			 Average 25,881 
			   
			  Male category C prisons (36)  
			 Acklington 17,490 
			 Ashwell 20,525 
			 Blundeston 27,654 
			 Buckley Hall(1) 25,329 
			 Camp Hill 24,562 
			 Canterbury 36,772 
			 Channings Wood 22,302 
			 Coldingley 25,212 
			 Dartmoor 26,656 
			 Edmunds Hill(1) 25,149 
			 Erlestoke 21,705 
			 Everthorpe 21,759 
			 Featherstone 23,335 
			 Guys Marsh 20,975 
			 Haverigg 21,574 
			 Highpoint 18,453 
			 Lancaster 42,683 
			 Lindholme 26,039 
			 Littlehey 19,532 
			 Maidstone 21,193 
			 Moorland 21,423 
			 Mount 21,563 
			 Onley 25,073 
			 Ranby 23,657 
			 Risley 19,289 
			 Shepton Mallet 34,444 
			 Stafford 20,206 
			 Stocken 21,090 
			 Usk\Prescoed 28,476 
			 Verne 19,439 
			 Wayland 18,563 
			 Wealstun 19,056 
			 Wellingborough 22,181 
			 Whatton 29,030 
			 Wymott 21,904 
			 Average 21,976 
			   
			  Male dispersal prisons (5)  
			 Frankland 47,401 
			 Full Sutton 46,086 
			 Long Lartin 37,445 
			 Wakefield 33,653 
			 Whitemoor 59,355 
			 Average 43,904 
			   
			  Female closed prisons (5)  
			 Bullwood Hall 43,706 
			 CookhamWood 49,716 
			 Downview 28,792 
			 Foston Hall 32,168 
			 Send 30,634 
			 Average 34,617 
			   
			  Female local prisons (6)  
			 Brockhill 38,657 
			 Eastwood Park 34,519 
			 Holloway 42,608 
			 Low Newton 29,912 
			 New Hall 41,800 
			 Styal 34,387 
			 Average 37,366 
			   
			  Female open prisons (2)  
			 Askham Grange 23,290 
			 East Sutton Park 24,965 
			 Average 23,932 
			   
			  Male closed YOI prisons (14)  
			 Aylesbury 32,660 
			 Brinsford 35,984 
			 Castington 35,085 
			 Deerbolt 26,522 
			 Feltham 45,201 
			 Glen Parva 32,604 
			 Hindley 30,980 
			 Lancaster 33,993 
			 Northallerton 40,030 
			 Portland 24,201 
			 Reading 48,405 
			 Rochester 24,409 
			 Stoke Heath 33,277 
			 Swinfen Hall 26,027 
			 Average 32,887 
			   
			  Male juvenile prisons (4)  
			 Huntercombe 42,384 
			 Warren 47,015 
			 Werrington 48,195 
			 Wetherby 36,423 
			 Average 42,143 
			   
			  Male local prisons (32)  
			 Bedford 34,422 
			 Belmarsh 48,079 
			 Birmingham 27,217 
			 Blakenhurst 23,322 
			 Bristol 42,727 
			 Brixton 37,037 
			 Bullingdon 27,912 
			 Cardiff 33,187 
			 Chelmsford 36,147 
			 Dorchester 47,675 
			 Durham 37,663 
			 Elmley 23,749 
			 Exeter 41,661 
			 Gloucester 38,037 
			 Holme House 25,016 
			 Hull 27,034 
			 Leeds 32,593 
			 Leicester 52,770 
			 Lewes 25,684 
			 Lincoln 31,354 
			 Liverpool 25,173 
			 Manchester 34,518 
			 Norwich 28,692 
			 Nottingham 32,764 
			 Pentonville 28,757 
			 Preston 39,695 
			 Shrewsbury 46,870 
			 Swansea 42,626 
			 Wandsworth 28,054 
			 Winchester 36,029 
			 Woodhill 43,313 
			 Wormwood Scrubs 24,512 
			 Average 31,912 
			   
			  Male open prisons (8)  
			 Ford 14,077 
			 Hewell Grange 24,769 
			 Hollesley Bay 23,801 
			 Kirkham 24,346 
			 Leyhill 22,497 
			 North Sea Camp 19,143 
			 Standford Hill 20,112 
			 Sudbury 16,641 
			 Average 20,183 
			   
			  Male open YOI prisons (1)  
			 Thorn Cross 27,413 
			 Average 27,413 
			   
			  Semi open prisons (7)  
			 Blantyre House 23,298 
			 Dover 29,316 
			 Drake Hall 25,559 
			 Haslar 29,742 
			 Kirklevington 19,050 
			 Latchmere House 15,444 
			 Morton Hall 21,796 
			 Average 23,571 
		
	
	
		
			  Privately run prisons costs per place 
			  Establishment  Occupancy  Cost (£) 
			 Altcourse Male local 51,763 
			 Ashfield Male juvenile 48,669 
			 Bronzefield Female closed 44,490 
			 Doncaster Male local 26,417 
			 Dovegate Male category B 29,043 
			 Forest Bank Male local 28,420 
			 Lowdham Grange Male category B 25,981 
			 Parc Male local 39,976 
			 Rye Hill Male category B 24,538 
			 Wolds Male category C 20,855 
			 (1) Costs related to re-role from female to male establishments.  Notes: 1. The prison place numbers used in calculating the costs per place are the Certified Normal Accommodation data. Certified Normal Accommodation (CNA), or uncrowded capacity, is the Prison Service's own measure of accommodation. CNA represents the good, decent standard of accommodation that the Service aspires to provide all prisoners. 2. Establishments are categorised in these tables by their main role only. For this reason, performance of prisons within a category cannot necessarily be compared on a like for like basis. 3. Peterborough prison is not included as it was being brought into operation during 2005-06.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

Delivery Unit

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 6 June 2007,  Official Report, column 591W, on the Delivery Unit, whether joint reviews result in the drawing up of action points that departments are expected to take forward;
	(2)  pursuant to the answer of 6 June 2007,  Official Report, column 591W, on the Delivery Unit, how many joint reviews the Delivery Unit has carried out in each financial year since 2001-02;
	(3)  pursuant to the answer of 6 June 2007,  Official Report, column 591W, on the Delivery Unit, what the subject was of each of the joint reviews;
	(4)  what criteria are used to decide whether the Delivery Unit conducts a joint review with a department of a particular programme or area;
	(5)  whether the Delivery Unit produced guidance for its staff on procedures to follow when carrying out joint reviews with other Government departments.

Hilary Armstrong: Reports arising from joint reviews conducted by the Prime Minister's Delivery Unit and Departments are policy advice to the Prime Minister and Ministers. Reports contain advice including recommendations for actions to be carried out by Departments. It is for the Prime Minister and Secretary of State to decide how these should be taken forward.
	Since its inception, PMDU has conducted joint reviews with Departments as follows:
	
		
			   Reviews 
			 2001-02 1 
			 2002-03 5 
			 2003-04 8 
			 2004-05 14 
			 2005-06 14 
			 2006-07 32 
			 2007-08 4 
		
	
	In the past 12 months, PMDU has carried out the following joint reviews with
	Departments:
	 Home Office
	Asset Recovery
	Antisocial Behaviour
	Reducing Reoffending,
	Citizen Focused Policing
	Respect Action Plans
	High Crime Causing Drug Users
	National Offender Management
	Non-Custodial Sentences
	New Asylum Model
	Department's Capability Review.
	 Education
	Primary and Secondary School Standards National Strategy
	Teenage pregnancy
	Pupil attendance
	Pupil behaviour
	Targeted Youth Support
	Building Schools for the Future
	14-19 local delivery policy
	Department's Capability Review
	 Health
	18 weeks
	Choice of four providers
	Practice-based commissioning
	NHS reform programme
	Childhood obesity
	PCT Capability
	Childhood and Adolescent Mental Health
	Department's Capability Review
	 Other projects
	Access to the Arts
	Review of Government Offices
	Sustainable Procurement
	Cross Government Delivery of Local Area Agreements
	Decisions on whether to conduct a review are taken jointly by PMDU and the Department concerned in consultation with No. 10.
	PMDU has produced guidance on conducting joint reviews for use in training staff.

Delivery Unit

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many staff  (a) were working in the Prime Minister's delivery unit on 31 March 2007 and  (b) are expected to be working in the delivery unit on 31 March 2008, broken down by payband.

Hilary Armstrong: The unit is led at Permanent Secretary level, and its staffing profile at 31 March 2007 was 46 full-time equivalent staff, breaking down as the following mix of grades:
	
		
			   Number 
			 Senior civil service 2 3 
			 Senior civil service 1 11 
			 Cabinet Office Band A 22 
			 Cabinet Office Band B2 5 
			 Cabinet Office Band B2 (faststream) 3 
			 Cabinet Office Band B1 2 
		
	
	The size of the unit and mix of grades at 31 March 2008 is in the process of being determined.

Departments: Consultants

Michael Meacher: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much the Department spent on  (a) management consultants and  (b) other external consultants and advisers in each year since 2000; and which of these consultants undertook work for the Department with a total contractual value in excess of £10 million over this period.

Hilary Armstrong: For details of my Department's spend on consultancy in each year since 2000, I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for North-East Hertfordshire (Mr. Heald) and the hon. Member for Pendle (Mr. Prentice) on 29 November 2006,  Official  R eport, columns 767-08W.
	My Department does not hold a central record of the total value of consultancy contracts, therefore, this information is only available at disproportionate cost.

Departments: Marketing

Theresa May: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster which advertising and marketing campaigns were run by  (a) her Department and  (b) its agencies in each of the last five years; which external agencies were involved; and what the cost was of each campaign.

Hilary Armstrong: The campaigns run by the Department and its agencies were as follows:
	
		
			   Campaign  External Agencies  Cost (£) 
			 2002-03 No activity — — 
			 2003-04 Recruitment Barkers 7,560 
			 
			 2004-05 Go In Stay In Tune In WCRS 2,974,799 
			  Fast stream Recruitment McCann Erickson 7,712 
			 
			 2005-06 Directgov WTCS/Naked 864,732 
			  Recruitment Barkers 13,414 
			 
			 2006-07 No activity — —

Energy

Alan Duncan: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the total cost was of producing and publishing the policy review document Building on progress: Energy and environment.

Hilary Armstrong: Final costs of producing and publishing this document are not yet available.

General Practitioners: Working Hours

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer of 6 June 2007,  Official Report, column 652W, on general practitioners: working hours, 
	(1)  what work the Delivery Unit has done on out-of-hours care since 2001;
	(2)  whether the Unit has conducted a joint review of out-of-hours care since 2001.

Hilary Armstrong: The Prime Minister's Delivery Unit's (PMDU) role is to monitor and report on delivery of the Prime Minister's top delivery and reform priorities. Out-of-hours care is not one of the areas on which PMDU's health team has worked, and PMDU has not conducted a joint review on it since 2001.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Business Resource Efficiency and Waste Programme

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what bodies are funded within the Business Resource Efficiency and Waste Programme; how much each is due to receive over the next five years; what the administration cost is of each; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The Business Resource Efficiency and Waste Programme's (BREW) funding is distributed to regional and national delivery bodies over three years (April 2005 to March 2008), with the amount increasing each year. We are now in Year 3, the final year, of the current Programme. Any future BREW Programme will depend on the outcome of the Comprehensive Spending Review.
	The current BREW delivery bodies are: the National Industrial Symbiosis Programme, Envirowise, the Waste and Resources Action Programme, the Market Transformation Programme, the Regional Development Agencies, the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts, the Environment Agency, the Sustainable Supply Chain Group, the Carbon Trust, the Department for Trade and Industry Technology Programme and DEFRA. Funding for each of these bodies, for each year of the current programme, can be found on the DEFRA website.
	One of the conditions from Her Majesty's Treasury, for the BREW Programme funding, is that administration costs should be kept to a minimum and this requirement is carried through to all of the BREW delivery bodies.

Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens: Finance

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what public funds have been made available to the Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens in each of the last five years.

Phil Woolas: I have been asked to reply.
	Through its Special Grants Programme, the Department for Communities and Local Government has funded the Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens (the Federation) as follows: 2005-06: £50,000; 2006-07: £70,000; 2007-08: £125,000 to a total amount of £245,000. No funding was provided to the Federation by the Departments in 2003-04 or 2004-05.
	The Departments funding allows the Federation to develop networks to support and promote new and existing local community-based gardening and food production groups, supporting delivery of our Cleaner, Safer, Greener Communities programme.
	Through the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Environmental Action Fund, the Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens received a three-year grant from 2005-08 as follows:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2005-06 84,000 
			 2006-07 116,500 
			 2007-08 114,500 
		
	
	The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs funding supports the Sustainable Production in Active Neighbourhoods (SPAN) Project. SPAN partners, including the Federation, are being supported to develop resources and working methods that will support community organisations to enable people to be involved in sustainable food production and consumption.

Noise

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he expects to implement section 84 and Schedule 1 of the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 relating to noise.

Ben Bradshaw: Section 84 and Schedule 1 of the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 came into force in relation to England on 1 October 2006. We have revised the directions for permitted noise levels and an approval for devices measuring noise levels.
	However, these cannot be brought into force until a stand-still period required under the Technical Standards and Regulations Directive 98/34/EC has expired.
	A statement will be published on the DEFRA website when we are able to confirm the exact date.

Noise

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his Department's policy is on neighbourhood noise.

Ben Bradshaw: The Government take the issue of neighbourhood noise seriously, and has given new powers to local authorities to deal with noise-related problems under the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005.

Noise: Greater London

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many environment protection officers there are responsible for noise in each London borough.

Ben Bradshaw: My Department does not hold the information requested. Staffing levels in individual London boroughs are a matter for the relevant local authority.

Noise: Pollution Control

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will provide an update on a proposed National Ambient Noise Strategy.

Ben Bradshaw: The Government plan to publish a combined national noise strategy for England, covering ambient and neighbourhood noise, by the end of 2007.

Recycling

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what steps his Department has taken to increase the level of recycling of plastic in the UK;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the proportion of households able to recycle plastic packing through doorstep collection.

Ben Bradshaw: Recycling is strongly promoted by a range of Government policies. The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) is working to maximise the amount and quality of recyclate used in UK manufacturing operations.
	The demand for recycled plastic is very strong, both from UK manufacturers and overseas markets. The UK currently recycles or recovers approximately 19 per cent. of all plastic consumed, and this is set to increase to over 25 per cent. by 2010. WRAP has a number of projects over the next two years which aim to switch manufacturing processes from virgin to recycled materials, including a target to support the recycling of an additional 16 kilo tonnes of plastic bottles—an increase of 30 per cent. from current levels.
	The new Waste Strategy for England, which we published in May, focuses action on key waste materials for greater scope for improving environmental and economic outcomes, one of which is plastic. The Strategy recognises that recycling plastics shows significant potential for carbon and energy savings through displacing virgin materials. Actions set out in the Strategy include developing proposals (subject to further analysis) for higher packaging recycling targets beyond the 2008 EC Packaging Directive targets, and supporting WRAP in its work to increase recycling of plastics and the recycled content of certain plastic containers.
	We have set demanding targets, both nationally and locally, for household waste recycling and composting and the Waste Strategy sets even higher national targets, to reach at least 40 per cent. by 2010, 45 per cent. by 2015 and 50 per cent. by 2020. These targets are not material-specific, but we expect the range of materials collected by local authorities, including plastics, to increase further as targets become more demanding and as collection and treatment capacity increases.

TREASURY

Al-Yamamah Project

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the departmental responsibilities of the Paymaster General since May 1997 have included authorisation of any aspect of the Al-Yamamah defence contract; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The responsibilities of the Paymaster General do not include authorisation of any aspect of the Al-Yamamah defence contract.

Capital Gains Tax: Venture Capital

Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library the memorandum of understanding with the British Venture Capital Association on the application of capital gains tax relief rules to venture capital companies.

John Healey: The two memoranda of understanding with the British Venture Capital Association can be found at the following links:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/ersmmanual/ERSM30530.htm
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/ersmmanual/ersm30520.htm
	I have also placed copies in the Library.

Corporation Tax

Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what projections were made of non-North Sea corporation tax receipts in  (a) the preceding Budget and  (b) the Pre Budget report in each financial year from 2000-01 to 2006-07; and what the outturn receipts were in each year.

John Healey: Projections and outturns of on-shore corporation tax receipts can be derived from the current receipts tables in the public finances chapters of the Financial Statement and Budget report and pre-Budget reports.
	An analysis of the difference between forecast and outturn for the year-ahead forecasts from the previous two Budgets is published in the End of Year Fiscal Report. This is published annually alongside the pre-Budget report.

Departments: Correspondence

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 20 June 2007,  Official Report, column 1879W, on Departments: correspondence, whether the 15 day target for responding to correspondence from hon. Members includes holding replies; what percentage of letters received holding replies only within 15 days in the most recent period for which figures are available; and what percentage of letters from hon. Members received a substantive response within 15 working days.

John Healey: During the financial year ending March 2007 HM Treasury sent 85 per cent. substantive replies to hon. Members within target. Performances do not normally include holding replies but, exceptionally, where an issue may be subject to forthcoming policy or announcement changes such replies may be included if hon. Members are updated with the latest position and then further updated once those changes have been made. Holding replies account for around 2 per cent. of replies to hon. Members.

Departments: Credit Cards

David Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was spent by staff in his Department via departmental  (a) credit,  (b) procurement and  (c) fuel cards in each of the last three years.

John Healey: HM Treasury issues cards for the purchase of official travel and subsistence services and the procurement of low value goods and services, in line with government rules on procurement. Total spending on these cards in the past three years was as follows:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2004-05 1,941,911 
			 2005-06 2,637,234 
			 2006-07 2,712,465

Departments: Sick Leave

David Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of sick leave taken by staff in his Department was stress-related in each of the last three years.

John Healey: The average working days lost per staff year in HM Treasury in the last three years is as follows:
	2006: 4.8 of which 1.1 days is estimated to be stress-related
	2005: 4.9 of which 1.2 days is estimated to be stress-related
	2004: 4.1 of which 0.8 days is estimated to be stress-related

Direct Payments

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what discussions he has had with the British Bankers' Association on the Direct Payments scheme since 2003; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what discussions he has had with the Building Societies' Association on the Direct Payments scheme since 2003; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: The Chancellor has not met with either of these groups since 2003 to discuss the Direct Payments scheme.

HM Revenue and Customs: Pay

John McDonnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average bonus payment made to HM Revenue and Customs staff in senior grades was in the last year for which figures are available.

Dawn Primarolo: The average bonus payment made to HM Revenue and Customs senior civil servants was £5,130.

Migrant Workers

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many migrant workers from the EU  (a) arrived in the UK and  (b) were in the UK in each month from April 2003 to April 2007; and if he will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested is not available.

VAT: Exemptions

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discretion there is in applying exemptions from VAT for work carried out on a disabled person's home after the work has been completed.

Dawn Primarolo: The VAT reliefs for alterations to a disabled person's private residence include a zero rate for the provision, extension or adaptation of a bathroom, washroom or lavatory, and for the construction of rampsand the widening of doorways or passages to facilitate entry into, and movement within, the building. However, zero-rating is not available for all building work carried out on the homes of disabled people and EU VAT agreements, signed by successive Governments, do not allow us to extend the scope of our existing zero rates or introduce new ones.
	If a customer has been charged the standard rate of VAT on a supply that was correctly liable to the zero rate, he or she should contact their supplier to obtain a refund of the amount they consider the supplier has overcharged. In turn, the supplier can recover from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) the VAT for which he has over-accounted to them, subject to certain time limits. In cases of doubt the supplier should contact HMRC's Charities and Disabled Reliefs Helpline on 0845 302 0203.

Welfare Tax Credits

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his latest estimate is of the percentage of tax credits paid out for 2003-04 which is accounted for by fraud, error and overpayment; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: Estimates for the level of error and fraud in 2003-04 are available in the publication 'Child and Working Tax Credits. Error and fraud statistics 2003-04'. This is available on the HMRC website at:
	http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortal
	WebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=paqeVAT_ShowContent&propertvType=document&columns=1&id=HMCE_PROD1_025711
	Estimates of the amount of entitlement for claimants in 2003-04 are available in the publication 'Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics. Finalised awards 2003-04. Supplement on payments in 2003-04.' This publication is available on the HMRC website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-pavments-0304.pdf
	Estimates for the value of overpayments in 2003-04 are available in the publication 'Child and Working Tax Credit Statistics. Finalised annual awards 2005-06. Supplement on payments in 2005-06'. This is available on the HMRC website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-pavments-0506.pdf

Welfare Tax Credits: Correspondence

Mark Harper: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what procedures are in place to ensure that letters notifying clients of the cessation of tax credits are not sent in error; and how many such letters have been sent in error since the system was established.

Dawn Primarolo: Procedural guidance for HM Revenue and Customs staff dealing with tax credits can be found at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/ntcmanual/index.htm
	Information about the number of letters is not available in the format requested.

Welfare Tax Credits: Overpayments

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many letters were written by HM Revenue and Customs demanding the recovery of overpaid tax credits in each month since January 2007; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: HM Revenue and Customs issued around 171,000 requests to pay back overpaid tax credits (forms TC610) from January 2007 to March 2007 (inclusive).

HOME DEPARTMENT

Agriculture: Foreign Workers

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many temporary agricultural workers permits have been issued to  (a) Romanian nationals and  (b) Bulgarian nationals since 1 January 2007; and if he will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: Provisional figures indicate that for the period 1 January to 31 March 2007, 1,535 work cards have been issued for Bulgarian nationals and 890 work cards for Romanian nationals wanting to participate in the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Scheme.
	The figures quoted are not provided under National Statistics protocols and have been derived from local management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change.

Airline Liaison Officers: Scotland

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many airline liaison offices and returns liaison officers are stationed in Scotland; where they are located; and if he will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: There are no Airline Liaison Officers (ALOs) or Returns Liaison Officers (RLOs) based in the United Kingdom.
	Airline Liaison Officers work at points abroad identified as significant points of embarkation for inadequately documented passengers boarding flights to the United Kingdom. Returns Liaison Officers are based overseas and are responsible for establishing and maintaining liaison with foreign officials on the ground to facilitate the return of those with no legal basis to remain in the United Kingdom.

Asylum

George Mudie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 3 May 2007,  Official Report, column 1871, on asylum, how many applications of claims for extensions of discretionary leave were decided in the weeks beginning  (a) 23 October 2006,  (b) 30 October 2006,  (c) 6 November 2006,  (d) 13 November 2006,  (e) 20 November 2006,  (f) 27 November 2006,  (g) 4 December 2006,  (h) 11 December 2006 and  (i) 18 December 2006

Liam Byrne: Lin Homer, the chief executive of the Border and Immigration Agency, wrote to the chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee on 19 February 2007 about the legacy programme. She explained that once reports can be produced on the legacy programme which Parliament and the wider public can have confidence in, Parliament will be updated accordingly. A copy of this letter has been placed in the Library of the House.

Asylum

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many of the 400,000 to 450,000 unresolved records relating to asylum cases to which he referred in his statement to the House on 19 July 2006,  Official Report, column 324, on the Home Office: Reform Action Plan, have been resolved;
	(2)  how many of the 400,000 to 450,000 unresolved records relating to asylum cases to which he referred in his statement to the House on 19 July 2006,  Official Report, column 324, on Home Office: Reform Action Plan, are held at Beddington Cross.

Liam Byrne: holding answer s  23 May 2007
	 Lin Homer, the Chief Executive of the Border and Immigration Agency, wrote to the chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee on 19 February 2007 about the legacy programme. She explained that once reports can be produced on the legacy programme which Parliament and the wider public can have confidence in, Parliament will be updated accordingly. A copy of this letter has been placed in the Library of the House.

Asylum: Applications

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many outstanding asylum applications there are; and how many were first made  (a) within the last (i) 12 months, (ii) two years and (iii) three years and  (b) more than three years ago.

Liam Byrne: The latest published figures show that the number of cases (excluding dependants) recorded as awaiting an initial decision was 5,700 at the end of March 2007. Of this total, 4,300 cases were work in progress, i.e. the application had been outstanding for six months or less.
	Information on when outstanding asylum applications were first made could be obtained only at disproportionate cost by examination of individual case records.
	Information on outstanding asylum applications is published quarterly and annually. Copies of these publications are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html

Asylum: English Language

John Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has estimated any additional costs for interpretation services provided by his Department which might result from the decision to end free English classes for asylum seekers, refugees in work and migrant workers.

Liam Byrne: Most asylum seekers already request that an interpreter be provided at their asylum interview. The costs of providing this service are already met by the Border and Immigration Agency. We do not therefore anticipate any additional costs arising from the decision to end free access to ESOL courses for asylum seekers. Refugees on low incomes continue to be entitled to free English classes. The Border and Immigration Agency funds the Sunrise pilot scheme which provides caseworker support to new refugees in accessing appropriate mainstream benefits, ESOL provision and employment services and opportunities. Other migrant workers have limited face-to-face contact with the Home Office.

Automatic Number Plate Recognition

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the percentage of  (a) driver and  (b) vehicle information held on the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency's Automated Number Plate Recognition database that is inaccurate.

Tony McNulty: Driver information held by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is not used to support use of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) as the technology applies to vehicles only.

Border and Immigration Agency: Manpower

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many full-time equivalent staff were employed at the North Shields Enforcement Unit of the Border and Immigration Agency and its predecessor the Immigration and Nationality Department at the start of each year from 2003-04 to 2007-08; and how many site visits and inspections were made by them in each year from 2003-04 to 2006-07.

Liam Byrne: The annual number of full-time equivalent staff employed by the Border and Immigration Agency and, before 2 April 2007, the Immigration and Nationality Directorate at North Shields between 2003-04 and 2007-08 are as follows:
	
		
			   Full-time equivalent 
			 2007-08 51.4 
			 2006-07 50.4 
			 2005-06 36.4 
			 2004-05 57.0 
			 2003-04 (1)— 
			 (1) No figures available due to archiving of records. 
		
	
	The figures for 2004-05 cover border control and enforcement staff. Separate figures are not available.
	The number of site visits and inspections made by this unit between 2003-04 and 2006-07 are as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2006-07 438 
			 2005-06 398 
			 2004-05 341 
			 2003-04 212 
		
	
	The figures quoted are not provided under National Statistics protocols and have been derived from local management information and are, therefore, provisional and subject to change.

British Nationality: Applications

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of the people having to retake Knowledge of Life in the UK tests have already been granted citizenship.

John Reid: I will write to the hon. Gentleman shortly about this matter.

Departments: Advertising

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was spent on advertising by  (a) the Department and  (b) its agencies in each of the last five years.

Liam Byrne: The expenditure on advertising for the Home Office, including the Border and Immigration Agency, and the Identity and Passport Service and the Criminal Records Bureau, for the requested period, is in the following table.
	
		
			  £000 
			   2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 Home Office 9,854 12,062 11,314 9,348 13,658 
			 IPS 489 649 467 826 993 
			 CRB 0 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	For both the Home Office and IPS, advertising for recruitment is accounted for as part of recruitment and selection costs and is not included in the figures above.

Departments: IPPR

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what funding his Department provided to  (a) the IPPR and  (b) IPPR Trading Ltd. in each year since May 1997; and for what purposes.

Liam Byrne: The Department's payments to the Institute for Public Policy Research and IPPR Trading Ltd., for the period in question, were:
	
		
			  £000 
			   IPPR  IPPR Trading  Total 
			 1997-98 0 — 0 
			 1998-99 18.7 — 18.7 
			 1999-2000 0 — 0 
			 2000-01 5.4 — 5.4 
			 2001-02 0 — 0 
			 2002-03 29.8 — 29.8 
			 2003-04 99.9 20.9 120.8 
			 2004-05 — 4.1 4.1 
			 2005-06 — 4.7 4.7 
		
	
	The purpose of expenditure was for research projects and consultancy work. More details could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departments: Manpower

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people granted  (a) temporary part-time,  (b) temporary full-time,  (c) permanent part-time and  (d) permanent full-time contracts of employment in his Department in each of the last three years were (i) male, (ii) female, (iii) registered disabled and (iv) aged 55 years or over.

Liam Byrne: The available information is set out in the following tables.
	Figures given are for FTE staff joining in the preceding year, who on the 31 March, were in post in the categories shown. In some cases movement between other Government Departments or other categories of employment other than recruitment may be included. It is not possible to exclude these except at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Central Home Office including Border and Immigration Agency( 1) 
			   Temporary  Permanent 
			  2006-07( 2)  (a)  part-time  (b) , full-time  (c )  part-time  (d )  full- time 
			 (i) male 24 146 35 948 
			 (ii) female 48 157 125 957 
			 (iii) disabled(3) 0 1-4(4) 1-4 10 
			 (iv) aged 55 years or over. 6 10 6 86 
			  
			  2005-06 
			 (i) male 5 135 25 979 
			 (ii) female 18 152 139 1062 
			 [iii) disabled 0 0 1-4(4) — 
			 (iv) aged 55 years or over — 9 21 156 
			  
			  2004-05 
			 (i) male 10 108 38 1,012 
			 (ii) female 16 341 113 980 
			 (iii) disabled 0 1-4 1-4 39 
			 (iv) aged 55 years or over 1-4 13 16 171 
			  Notes:(1) Border and Immigration Agency moved to Agency status on 9 May 2007, previous to this it was Immigration and Nationality Directorate.  (2) Figures have been taken from the Home Office personnel system Adelphi as at 31 March 2005, 2006, 2007. Non-active staff have been excluded. Temporary staff here excludes agency workers and contractors.  (3) The Home Office does not store disability information on the basis of 'registered disability' figures are for self-declared disabled status.  (4) Where staff numbers are less than five, it is not Home Office policy to disclose them. 
		
	
	
		
			  Prison Service 
			   Temporary  Permanent 
			  2006-07  (a) part-time  (b) full-time  (c) part-time  (d)  full- time 
			 (i) male 19 596 54 2,295 
			 (ii) female 94 602 234 1,871 
			 (iii) disabled(3) 4 20 9 55 
			 (iv) aged 55 years or over. 15 107 45 222 
			  
			  2005-06 
			 (i) male 19 658 54 2,197 
			 (ii) female 103 582 214 1,833 
			 (iii) disabled 2 20 5 40 
			 (iv) aged 55 years or over 17 82 44 192 
			  
			  2004-05 
			 9i) male 18 571 50 2,222 
			 (ii) female 80 462 306 1,947 
			 (iii) disabled 0 12 8 64 
			 (iv) aged 55 years or over 12 68 54 210 
			 (1) The Home Office does not store disability information on the basis of 'registered disability' figures are for self-declared disabled status.

Departments: Manpower

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of staff in his Department are  (a) male,  (b) female,  (c) registered disabled and  (d) aged 55 or over.

Liam Byrne: The department publishes annual Diversity and Equal Opportunity Monitoring Reports that includes comprehensive employment data on gender, disability and age. These can be accessed through the following link:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/about-us/publications/staff-equality-targets/

Departments: Older Workers

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people aged  (a) over 55 years of age and  (b) over 60 years of age have been recruited by his Department in each of the last three years; and what percentage in each case this is of the number of new recruits in each year.

Liam Byrne: The available figures are as set out in the tables.
	Within the Criminal Records Bureau, these data are not held centrally and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  A vailable figures for Central Home Office and Border and Immigration Agency 
			   2007  2006  2005 
			   Number  Percentage of new entrants  Number  Percentage of new entrants  Number  Percentage of new entrants 
			  (a) people over 55 years of age(1) 82 3.36 160 6.36 174 6.65 
			  (b) people over 60 years of age 17 0.70 26 1.03 51 1.95 
			 (1) Number given is new entrants aged over 55, it therefore excludes those in (b). 
		
	
	An earlier PQ 143915 asked for staff numbers in the category '55 and over' figures supplied there are larger than the sum of  (a) and  (b) above as they include those at 55 years of age.
	The figures have been taken from records held on the Home Office personnel system called ADELPHI.
	
		
			  Recruits into public sector Prison Service aged (a) over 55 and (b) over 60 
			   2006 - 07  2005 - 06  2004 - 05 
			   Number  Percentage of new entrants  Number  Percentage of new entrants  Number  Percentage of new entrants 
			  (a) people over 55 years of age 389 6.70 335 5.90 344 6.10 
			  (b) people over 60 years of age 109 1.90 75 1.30 68 1.20 
			  Note:  New entrants in  (b) are also included in  (a). The figures include staff who are either 55 or 60 years of age or older respectively on the day of joining the Prison Service 
		
	
	
		
			  IPS 
			   2007  2006  2005 
			   Number  Percentage of new entrants  Number  Percentage of new entrants  Number  Percentage of new entrants 
			  (a) people over 55 years 335 ppl (8.2%) 0.76 308 ppl (-8.60%) 0.68 279 ppl (-9.20%) 0.91 
			  (b) people over 60 years 160 ppl (-3.90%) 0.21 146 ppl (-4.00%) 0.34 130 ppl (-4.30%) 0.21

Departments: Pay

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was spent by his Department on staff pay in each year since 1997-98; and how many staff were employed in each year.

Liam Byrne: The Home Office Departmental Report (2004-05) contains outturn information on staffing numbers from 1999 to 2003 for the core department, Prison Service, Forensic Science Service, Fire Service College and United Kingdom Passport Agency (now Identity and Passport Service). The staff numbers are in tables 6.9 and 6.10 (pages 130 and 131). The report can be found on the Home Office website using this link:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/annual-report-0405-html/?version=1.
	Since 2004, the Department has published consolidated Resource Accounts, which detail staff costs and staff numbers for the core department, National Probation Service, HM Prison Service, identity and Passport Service and Criminal Records Bureau. The total staff costs from the Resource Accounts, for the last four financial years, are shown as follows. The costs comprise wages and salaries, social security costs and other pension costs. Resource accounts figures for previous financial years are not available on the same basis.
	
		
			   Cost (£000) 
			 2004-05 2,728,309 
			 2005-06 2,905,651 
		
	
	For further information, the Home Office Resource Accounts can be accessed via the Home Office website using the following links.
	 2003-04 (page 36 refers):
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/resource-accounts-0304?version=1
	 2004-05 (pages 43 and 44 refer):
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/resource-accts-2004-05?version=1.
	 2005-06 (pages 67 and 68 refer):
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/resource- accounts_0506?version=1.

Departments: PFI

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the value is of the unitary payments of each private finance initiative scheme overseen by his Department over the lifetime of the contract expressed in 2007-08 prices and discounted to present value.

Liam Byrne: Details of each private finance initiative scheme overseen by the Home Department with information on estimated unitary charges for 2007-08 is available on HM Treasury's website at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/documents/public_private_partnerships/ppp_pfi_stats.cfm
	The estimated unitary charge is based on 2006-07 actual charges and is not simply repayments for capital value of the project but frequently include other factors such as inflation, service provision, capital repayments and major refurbishment.
	To provide information on the unitary payments over the lifetime of the contract expressed in 2007-08 prices and discounted to present value would incur disproportionate costs. On average an appropriate discount rate to use for providing an Net Present Value (NPV) total would be as set out in the Green Book as real discount rate of 3.5 per cent.
	The signed deals list covers unitary charges up until 2033-34 and to update the figures to cover the duration of the contract would incur disproportionate cost.

Departments: Written Questions

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many ordinary written questions to his Department from hon. Members have been waiting for a substantive reply for more than  (a) one month and  (b) two months; and what the subjects are of those questions.

Tony McNulty: As of 27 June, the Department had 15 questions that were overdue to either the House of Commons or the House of Lords by one month or more. Of these, 13 were overdue by more than two months. These questions concern a range of subjects relating to departmental business and policy responsibilities.

Emergency Calls

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many emergency telephone operators were employed by police in each of the last 10 years, broken down by police force area.

Tony McNulty: The available data relate to the number of individuals primarily employed in the function of control room (call handlers). This function includes those staff who are predominately employed as control room operatives, or those who support such individuals, in either force or area control rooms including officers employed as telephonists.
	The available data for police officers are from 2002-03 onwards, and the available data for police staff are from 2004-05 onwards, both are given in the tables.
	
		
			  Police officers (FTE)( 1)  whose main function is control room (call handlers)( 2)  (2002-03  to  2005-06) 
			   2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 Avon and Somerset 70 75 69 68 
			 Bedfordshire 31 30 26 19 
			 Cambridgeshire 51 42 39 29 
			 Cheshire 51 49 84 81 
			 Cleveland 46 1 0 0 
			 Cumbria 22 19 21 18 
			 Derbyshire 67 54 56 51 
			 Devon and Cornwall 41 32 31 30 
			 Dorset 29 30 29 28 
			 Durham 89 97 89 88 
			 Dyfed-Powys 16 16 12 11 
			 Essex 81 69 59 51 
			 Gloucestershire 52 46 40 32 
			 Greater Manchester 245 232 226 221 
			 Gwent 10 8 7 7 
			 Hampshire 81 69 59 40 
			 Hertfordshire 71 65 63 61 
			 Humberside 70 70 57 79 
			 Kent 0 0 35 32 
			 Lancashire 115 116 100 74 
			 Leicestershire 85 70 67 57 
			 Lincolnshire 16 18 19 17 
			 London, City of 34 30 32 26 
			 Merseyside 151 123 116 95 
			 Metropolitan Police 195 181 234 395 
			 Norfolk 40 40 42 38 
			 Northamptonshire 21 22 23 28 
			 Northumbria 99 90 78 64 
			 North Wales 68 62 60 47 
			 North Yorkshire 25 28 29 33 
			 Nottinghamshire 65 61 57 56 
			 South Wales 49 48 40 45 
			 South Yorkshire 59 43 35 28 
			 Staffordshire 88 79 72 1 
			 Suffolk 14 15 13 13 
			 Surrey 54 56 53 43 
			 Sussex 60 50 40 37 
			 Thames Valley 109 90 78 67 
			 Warwickshire 1 1 0 0 
			 West Mercia 30 11 23 20 
			 West Midlands 190 173 172 162 
			 West Yorkshire 145 178 174 155 
			 Wiltshire 38 38 36 37 
			 (1) This table contains full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding, there may be an apparent discrepancy between the totals in this table and totals in similar published tables. (2) Staff with multiple responsibilities (or designations) are recorded under their primary role or function. The deployment of police officers is an operational matter for individual chief constables. This function includes those staff who are predominately employed as control room operatives, in either force or area control rooms including officers employed as telephonists. 
		
	
	
		
			  Police staff (FTE)( 1)  whose main function is control room (call handlers)( 2)  (2004-05-2005-06)( 3) 
			   2005  2006 
			 Avon and Somerset 324 358 
			 Bedfordshire 97 102 
			 Cambridgeshire 125 112 
			 Cheshire 193 184 
			 Cleveland 10 9 
			 Cumbria 111 108 
			 Derbyshire 205 209 
			 Devon and Cornwall 307 306 
			 Dorset 125 132 
			 Durham 107 109 
			 Essex 223 216 
			 Gloucestershire 110 n/a 
			 Greater Manchester 522 503 
			 Hampshire 291 355 
			 Hertfordshire 208 256 
			 Humberside 139 154 
			 Kent 383 412 
			 Lancashire 349 347 
			 Leicestershire 182 153 
			 Lincolnshire 146 n/a 
			 London, City of 28 27 
			 Merseyside 293 203 
			 Metropolitan Police 1682 1684 
			 Norfolk 131 137 
			 Northamptonshire 138 145 
			 Northumbria 226 227 
			 North Yorkshire 158 181 
			 Nottinghamshire 232 233 
			 South Yorkshire 301 331 
			 Staffordshire 252 178 
			 Suffolk 113 130 
			 Surrey 288 280 
			 Sussex 271 263 
			 Thames Valley 456 528 
			 Warwickshire 104 97 
			 West Mercia 281 235 
			 West Midlands 307 n/a 
			 West Yorkshire 317 347 
			 Wiltshire 122 134 
			 Dyfed-Powys 43 58 
			 Gwent 110 113 
			 North Wales 95 n/a 
			 South Wales 218 222 
			 (1) This table contains full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding, there may be an apparent discrepancy between the totals in this table and totals in similar published tables. (2) Staff with multiple responsibilities (or designations) are recorded under their primary role or function. The deployment of police officers is an operational matter for individual chief constables. This function includes those staff who are predominately employed as control room operatives, in either force or area control rooms including officers employed as telephonists. (3) Data are not available for 2002-03 to 2003-04.

Entry Clearances

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the unit cost is of dealing with each category of in-country application.

Liam Byrne: Following a public consultation at the end of 2006, we set out in a written ministerial statement and formal response to the consultation the intention to move away from a simple cost recovery model for immigration and nationality fees from this April to a model where categories of leave are priced on the basis of their value to the applicant. This allows us to adopt a more flexible approach and can keep fees low for particular groups.
	The projected unit costs on which the fees which took effect on 2 April 2007 were calculated are as follows. The actual costs of processing the applications will be reported in the accounts of the Border and Immigration Agency in the usual way following the end of the financial year.
	
		
			  Application type  Projected cost 2007-08 (£) 
			  Settlement/Nationality  
			 Indefinite leave to remain 450 
			 Nationality—Right Of Abode 135 
			 Nationality—Naturalisation 206 
			 Nationality—Adult Registration 156 
			 Nationality—Minor single and multiple registration 190 
			 Nationality—Adult registration under s.1 of the British Nationality (Hong Kong) Act 1997 120 
			 Nationality—Minor registration under s.1 of the British Nationality (Hong Kong) Act 1997 200 
			 Nationality—renunciation 385 
			 Nationality—Citizenship Ceremony Fee 80 
			 Nationality—supply of a certified copy of a notice 20 
			 Nationality—Administration of a citizenship oath (not at a ceremony) 5 
			   
			  Work  
			 Highly Skilled Migrant Programme 167 
			 HSMP Leave to Remain 258 
			 Work Permits 98 
			 Work Permit Leave to Remain 288 
			 Business Case Unit Leave to Remain 358 
			 WRS 125 
			 SAWS 12 
			   
			  LTR Other  
			 Leave to Remain (non-student) 395 
			 Certificate of Approval 295 
			 Transfer of Conditions 302 
			 Adult Travel Documents (CID) 210 
			 Child Travel Documents (CID) 130 
			 Adult Travel Documents (CTD) 121 
			 Child Travel Documents (CTD) 450 
			   
			  Student  
			 Student Leave to Remain 451

Entry Clearances: USA

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with the United States Department for Homeland Security on limits to the visa waiver programme for security purposes; and whether exclusions based on  (a) ethnic and  (b) behavioural profiling have been discussed.

John Reid: There have been discussions on several occasions with Secretary Chrertoff on how to enhance co-operation on border security, including the Visa Waiver programme. At no stage has ethnic profiling been requested, countenanced or discussed other than in addressing misleading press reports, which were dismissed by both sides.

Immigration

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average response time has been to an immigration enquiry from an hon. Member in 2007; and what the equivalent figure was in  (a) 2006 and  (b) 2005.

Liam Byrne: In 2005 letters from hon. Members were answered within an average of 32.8 working days. In 2006 letters from hon. Members were answered within an average of 23.56 working days.
	Figures for the average number of days to respond to a hon. Member's letters in 2007 are not currently available.

Immigration Asylum and Nationality Act 2006: Prosecutions

Humfrey Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been prosecuted under section 34 (3) of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006.

Tony McNulty: The Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 received Royal Assent on the 30 March 2006. Section 34(3) provides an offence where a person fails to provide information in response to a requirement under section 32 (2) or (3) or 33(2) of that Act.
	We are currently engaged in consultation with industry on implementation of these sections, which will influence when these sections will commence. To date, there have been no prosecutions under section 34(3) of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006.

Immigration Controls

David Heyes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what procedure  (a) is followed by Border Control and Immigration Agency officers in relation to cases defined as 'work in progress hold' and  (b) determines the order in which such cases are dealt with; and what the average length of time taken was to deal with such cases in the latest period for which figures are available.

Liam Byrne: The document Fair, Effective, Transparent and Trusted: Rebuilding Confidence in our Immigration System, published in July 2006, lays out the order of priorities for legacy asylum cases. We will consider first those who may pose a risk to the public, and then those more easily removed, those receiving support, and those who may be granted leave. All cases are dealt with on their individual merits.

Immigration Officers: Manpower

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many full-time equivalent immigration officers there are in the Immigration and Nationality Directorate;
	(2)  how many full-time equivalent removals and enforcement officers there are in the Immigration and Nationality Directorate.

Liam Byrne: At the end of 31 March 2007, there were around 9,000 full-time equivalent staff working in both the Border and Enforcement areas within the Border and Immigration Agency.

Leave to Remain

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his policy is on enforcement action in the case of applicants for the family indefinite leave to remain exercise with criminal convictions  (a) whose cases are outstanding and  (b) whose applications have been refused; and how many have been made the subject of enforcement action since the policy was introduced.

Liam Byrne: The criteria Border and Immigration Agency applies its criteria for deportation when determining whether enforcement action should be taken in family indefinite leave to remain cases where criminality is involved. The agency's deportation criteria were set out by my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary in a written ministerial statement on 23 May 2006.
	Figures for those with criminal convictions refused under the Family Indefinite Leave exercise and subject to enforcement action are unavailable and would only be obtained by examination of the individual case records at disproportionate cost.

Members: Correspondence

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reasons  (a) the letter of 16 April 2007 on the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Trafficking of Women and Children was not acknowledged or replied to and  (b) the subsequent fax did not reach him; and if he will deal promptly with the email sent on 22 May containing the original letter.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 4 June 2007
	 The letter of 16 April was delayed in reaching my office.
	A copy of the letter was received on 10 May, and I wrote to the hon. Member on 19 June in response to the requests made in the original letter.

Northumbria Police: Finance

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the general grant to the Northumbria police was in each of the years 2003-04 to 2007-08; and what the percentage change was between each year and the succeeding year.

Tony McNulty: The information requested is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Northumbria police—General grant funding 2003-04 and 2007-08 
			   General govt grants( 1)( ) (£ million)  Annual change in general govt grants (Percentage) 
			 2003-04 214.3 — 
			 2004-05 221.4 3.3 
			 2005-06 232.6 5.1 
			 2005-06(2) 222.8 — 
			 2006-07 229.7 3.1 
			 2007-08 238.0 3.6 
			 (1) General grant comprises: Home Office police grant, DCLG revenue support grant and national non-domestic rates. (2) Adjusted for comparison purposes following the transfer of pensions and security funding from general grant in 2006-07.

Northumbria Police: Finance

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home 
	(1)  Department what  (a) special grants and  (b) targeted initiatives were provided to Northumbria police in each of the years 2003-04 to 2007-08; and what the percentage change in funding was for each scheme or initiative between each year and the succeeding year;
	(2)  what  (a) special grants and  (b) targeted initiatives for Northumbria police were allocated to the City of Newcastle in each year from 2003-04 to 2007-08.

Tony McNulty: Information on specific grants is set out in the following tables.
	Northumbria has received two special grant allocations in the period 2003-04 to 2007-08. In 2004-05 it was awarded £1.44 million for the Labour Party Spring Conference and it was awarded £0.9 million in 2006-07 for the EU Justice Ministers Conference.
	The Government allocate funding to police authorities. The allocation of resources within Northumbria police is a matter for the chief officer and the Police Authority. We do not hold information on resources for the city of Newcastle.
	
		
			  Northumbria police: targeted initiatives 2003-04 to 2007-08 
			   Crime fighting fund  (£ million)  Annual percentage change  (percentage)  Basic command unit  (£ million)  Annual percentage change  (percentage)  Community support officers  (£ million)  Annual percentage change  (percentage) 
			 2003-04 6.8 __ 1.4 — 0.3 — 
			 2004-05 7.3 7.7 1.4 0.0 0.9 160.9 
			 2005-06 7.3 0.0 1.4 0.0 2.1 143.4 
			 2005-06 7.3 0.0 1.4 0.0 2.1 0.0 
			 2006-07(1) 7.3 0.0 1.4 0.0 0.9 -55.1 
			 2007-08(2) 7.3 0.0 1.4 0.0 1.0 3.0 
		
	
	
		
			   Neighbourhood policing fund  ( £ million )  Annual percentage change  (percentage)  Forensic  (DNA  expansion) grant  (£ million)  Annual percentage change  (percentage)  Special priority payments  (£ million)  Annual percentage change  (percentage) 
			 2003-04 — — 1.2 — 1.2 — 
			 2004-05 — — 1.2 -0.7 1.7 39.3 
			 2005-06 — — 1.0 -20.3 2.1 28.5 
			 2005-06 — — 1.0 0.0 2.1 0.0 
			 2006-07(1) 5.2 — — — — — 
			 2007-08(2) 7.3 40.5 — — — — 
		
	
	
		
			   Special formula grant( 3)( ) ( £ million )  Annual  percentage  change  (percentage)  Pensions deficit grant  (£ million)  Dedicated security posts  (percentage)  Annual  percentage  change  (£ million)  Capital  (percentage) 
			 2003-04 — — — — — 1.5 
			 2004-05 — — — — — 6.6 
			 2005-06 — — — — — 6.0 
			 2005-06 — — 95 — 6.0 
			 2006-07(1) 3.1 — 11.8 24.2 5.6 
			 2007-08(2) 3.1 0.0 13.1 11.0 6.1 
		
	
	
		
			   Annual percentage chang e  ( £ million )  Airwave  (percentage)  Annual percentage change  (£ million)  Premises improvement fund  (percentage)  Total specific grants & capital provision  (£ million)  Total annual change  (percentage) 
			 2003-04 — 0.6 — 0.4 13.4 — 
			 2004-05 331.2 0.4 -41.4 — 19.4 44.8 
			 2005-06 -10.1 0.7 98.7 — 20.5 6.0 
			 2005-06 0.0 0.7 0.0 — 30.0 46.3 
			 2006-07(1) -6.3 — — — 35.2 17.3 
			 2007-08(2) 8.7% — — — 39.2 11.2 
			 (1 )NPF figure includes Northumbria's share of the £91 million announced in the 2006 Budget. (2 )Capital figure includes the increased capital allocation announced on 24 May and 19 June 2007 (3 )Special Formula Grant comprised four former specific grants; Rural Policing Grant, Special Priority Payments, Forensic Grant and London/SE Allowances.

Offenders: Deportation

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what resources were drawn from the Criminal Casework Team in the former Immigration and Nationality Directorate to improve the speed of responses to Ministers' letters from hon. Members as stated on page 2 of A Review of the Failure of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate to consider some Foreign National Prisoners for Deportation.

Liam Byrne: The Chief Executive of the Border and Immigration Agency, Lin Homer, was responsible for commissioning this review and implementing its findings. I have asked the Chief Executive to write to the hon. Gentleman to provide further clarification on the issue he has raised and will also arrange for a copy of this letter to be placed in the Library of the House.

Police: Labour Turnover

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 12 June 2007,  Official Report, column 975W, to the hon. Member for Taunton (Mr. Browne) on police: labour turnover, how many police recruits left the police force within two years of joining since 2002-03, broken down by police force area; and what percentage of leavers that figure represents.

Tony McNulty: The available data are given in the following table. The totals for leavers include transfers to other England and Wales forces.
	
		
			  Number of police officers leaving( 1)  within two years of joining the service by police force area, from 2002-03 to 2005-06 
			  Headcount 
			   2002-03( 2)  2003-04  2004-05( 3)  2005-06( 4) 
			   Number of officers leaving within two years  Percentage of officers leaving within two years from total number of leavers  Number of officers leaving within two years  Percentage of officers leaving within two years from total number of leavers  Number of officers leaving within two years  Percentage of officers leaving within two years from total number of leavers  Number of officers leaving within two years  Percentage of officers leaving within two years from total number of leavers 
			 Avon and Somerset 39 18.9 33 22.9 30 17.4 15 8.2 
			 Bedfordshire 17 18.5 22 21.2 30 30.6 16 18.0 
			 Cambridgeshire 17 15.9 10 10.5 12 11.5 12 10.9 
			 Cheshire 6 5.3 12 11.0 17 15.6 8 4.5 
			 Cleveland 2 3.3 9 11.0 14 17.3 8 7.5 
			 Cumbria 5 8.5 3 6.3 8 17.8 5 6.9 
			 Derbyshire 7 6.4 13 15.1 6 5.5 4 2.9 
			 Devon and Cornwall 20 13.0 10 7.8 18 10.1 24 12.0 
			 Dorset 13 19.1 15 20.0 13 16.5 15 14.4 
			 Durham 6 8.1 11 14.1 17 21.0 16 15.5 
			 Dyfed-Powys 6 10.9 5 12.5 10 16.4 4 5.3 
			 Essex 23 10.7 19 9.2 34 15.2 39 15.1 
			 Gloucestershire 13 15.7 10 17.5 11 19.0 4 4.3 
			 Greater Manchester 56 14.9 65 19.6 55 15.4 43 8.8 
			 Gwent 2 3.3 3 4.1 4 5.5 12 15.2 
			 Hampshire 29 12.9 48 20.7 37 13.9 32 10.9 
			 Hertfordshire 33 17.4 43 27.2 38 24.2 31 18.1 
			 Humberside 17 16.3 22 22.7 12 10.6 20 12.8 
			 Kent 43 20.0 45 19.9 27 12.5 23 8.5 
			 Lancashire — — 18 14.3 21 12.6 13 6.2 
			 Leicestershire 9 7.1 16 18.6 — — 19 11.9 
			 Lincolnshire 15 20.5 7 11.5 14 17.5 14 14.6 
			 London, City of 11 18.6 5 8.9 6 10.2 3 3.8 
			 Merseyside 10 5.1 14 8.0 22 9.6 19 6.7 
			 Metropolitan Police 410 23.5 394 25.0 214 15.5 95 5.9 
			 Norfolk 12 13.0 6 11.8 7 8.8 11 12.1 
			 Northamptonshire 8 14.3 7 9.6 5 5.5 10 11.0 
			 Northumbria 20 12.2 20 11.0 20 12.4 13 6.4 
			 North Wales 9 11.7 7 12.3 10 18.5 6 6.1 
			 North Yorkshire 8 13.8 7 9.5 13 14.6 3 2.9 
			 Nottinghamshire 8 5.8 14 11.3 15 10.3 4 2.5 
			 South Wales 25 16.3 11 7.5 11 8.5 13 7.1 
			 South Yorkshire 24 14.0 23 14.1 30 17.1 21 8.8 
			 Staffordshire 12 9.2 12 11.7 34 27.0 12 10.6 
			 Suffolk 12 14.1 20 26.7 16 21 .6 10 11.1 
			 Surrey 53 21 .5 40 27.0 30 19.0 22 14.7 
			 Sussex 47 19.3 87 30.0 84 32.4 49 22.2 
			 Thames Valley 53 14.3 37 11 .6 62 19.8 41 12.5 
			 Warwickshire 12 20.7 7 12.5 3 4.7 5 6.8 
			 West Mercia 13 11.2 22 17.9 13 11.2 9 5.8 
			 West Midlands 88 16.7 7 1.6 72 16.3 63 12.9 
			 West Yorkshire 30 11.7 32 12.9 40 14.9 63 17.2 
			 Wiltshire 10 12.2 14 21 .2 11 13.9 12 16.4 
			 England and Wales 1,253 16.1 1,225 17.0 1,146 15.7 861 9.8 
			 (1) Includes transfers to other England and Wales forces but does not include officers leaving after a period of secondment. (2) Data not available for Lancashire. (3) Data not available for Leicestershire. (4) Over 1,000 police officers previously working with the National Crime Squad (NCS) and the National Criminal Intelligence Squad (NCIS) left their home force to join the Serious Organised Crime Agency when it vested on 1 April 2006.

Police: Manpower

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police are employed by Essex police in the Chelmsford area.

Tony McNulty: The available data are for the number of full-time equivalent police officers in the Chelmsford basic command unit (BCU) within the Essex police force. These data are published in the supplementary tables of the Home Office Statistical Bulletin 13/06 "Police Service Strength, England and Wales, 31 March 2006" and are downloadable from:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs06/hosb1306add_tab.xls
	The number of full-time equivalent (FTE) police officers in the Chelmsford BCU was 232 as at 31 March 2006 (FTE figures rounded to the nearest whole number, includes those officers on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave).

Salman Rushdie

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much has been spent from the public purse on the protection of Salman Rushdie in each year  (a) since the fatwa was announced and  (b) since its removal.

Tony McNulty: It is our long established policy not to comment on protective security arrangements (and their associated costs) for any individual. This is because to do so could compromise the integrity of those arrangements and affect the security of the individuals concerned.

Work Permits: Fraud

Chris McCafferty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many investigations the Home Office Work Permits Section carried out into complaints of work permits abuse in the IT, communications and electronics sector in  (a) 2004,  (b) 2005 and  (c) 2006; and how many resulted in a penalty or sanction against (i) the employing organisation and (ii) the work permit holder in each year.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 25 June 2007
	 I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 25 June 2007,  Official Report, column 327W.
	The figures quoted are not provided under National Statistics protocols and have been derived from local management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change.

Written Questions

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to answer question 134975, tabled by the hon. Member for Portsmouth, South on 25 April 2007, on Miss Ketchanou; and what the reasons are for the delay.

Tony McNulty: My hon. Friend the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Nationality (Mr. Byrne) replied to the hon. Member on 25 June 2007,  Official Report, column 311W.

Yarl's Wood Detention Centre

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many complaints about  (a) the food served and  (b) those serving it were made at Yarl's Wood Detention Centre in each of the last three years; and what action has been taken as a result.

Liam Byrne: Records of complaints by detainees about food are only readily available from January 2006. Since this date there have been 15 complaints about food and seven about servery staff. All complaints about the food have been addressed and detainees have received written responses. Staff concerned have been provided with advice and guidance regarding their conduct in the workplace but disciplinary action has not been necessary. Currently, two investigations into staff conduct are ongoing.

Yarl's Wood Detention Centre

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many employees at Yarl's Wood Detention Centre were disciplined in each of the last three years; for what offences; what action resulted in each case; and if he will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: Information prior to July 2006 is not available under the Data Protection Act, which does not permit the storage of records relating to disciplinary action for more than 12 months.
	From July 2006 to April 2007, the last 10 months that Global Solutions Limited (GSL) operated the centre under contract to the Border and Immigration Agency (BIA), fifteen employees at Yarl's Wood Removal Centre were subject to disciplinary procedures. The disciplinary offences were poor attendance, failure to report absence, unauthorised absence, lateness, failure to follow procedures, unprofessional conduct and harassment, displaying threatening behaviour to a colleague, discourteous to staff, sickness, inappropriate use of language and behaviour and leaving the site without authorisation. None of the disciplinary offences concerned actions towards detainees. The cases resulted in the issue of warnings to the staff concerned. These were in the form of verbal and written warnings.
	Serco were awarded the contract for the operation of Yarl's Wood in April 2007. There have since been two disciplinary investigations of staff, both for bringing mobile phones into the establishment. The members of staff were given verbal warnings.
	Contractors are responsible for their own disciplinary procedures which are overseen in operation by Border and Immigration Agency staff.

Yarl's Wood Detention Centre

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many complaints of  (a) sexual and  (b) racial intimidation have been registered by inmates of Yarl's Wood Detention Centre in the last 12 months; and what the result has been of investigations into such complaints.

Liam Byrne: From January 2006 there are no records of complaints of sexual intimidation. There have been six complaints referred to the Race Relations Liaison Officer, five of which were assessed as not being of a racist nature. The sixth was withdrawn by the detainee and the Race Relations Liaison Officer satisfied himself that this complaint was not of a racist nature and decided not to pursue the matter further.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Departments: Languages

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the views of  (a) language teaching staff in her Department and  (b) staff in other departments were on the decision to outsource her Department's language teaching operation.

Geoff Hoon: Language teaching staff are very committed to achieving high standards in their work. They expressed disappointment when told of the decision to outsource the teaching operation. We will be offering them every possible support in managing the transition from the present arrangements. There will be no bar to existing teaching staff providing language training services to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in future, either as an employee or owner of an organisation that successfully tenders for this business.
	Language training will continue to be provided for staff from other Government Departments posted into FCO jobs. Those Departments will be offered the opportunity to use the proposed FCO framework agreement to source language training for their own staff who need language skills in the future. Other Departments were not consulted on the FCO's business decision to outsource language training.

Departments: Languages

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what account was taken of the job requirements of staff  (a) in her Department and  (b) in other departments when making the decision to outsource her Department's language teaching operation.

Geoff Hoon: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) language policy review made a number of recommendations to improve the skills of FCO staff who require language skills to do their job. The decision to outsource training will not impact on the operational efficiency of FCO staff or staff from other Government Departments working in the FCO.

Departments: Languages

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the quality of the language teaching available from outside providers compared with that available from the in-house staff in her Department.

Geoff Hoon: We do not believe that quality of training will be affected. Language teaching suppliers will have performance targets built into their contracts. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Services Review of Language training, which looked at the examination performance of trainees taught by agency-supplied teachers, concluded that examination performance is not automatically enhanced by having full time teachers. 40 per cent. of FCO priority language training is already outsourced.

Departments: Languages

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what factors are taken into account by her Department when calculating the cost of an average hour of language teaching to  (a) a single individual and  (b) a group in a lesson provided by her Department's language teaching operation.

Geoff Hoon: When benchmarking the cost of an average hour of language tuition, detailed analysis considered tuition costs, including value added tax and, for group training, classes of four.
	Other costs such as accommodation, registration and set up fee and learning resources subscription were not taken into account when comparing the hourly tuition rates.

Departments: Languages

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the average cost is of an hour of language teaching to  (a) a single individual and  (b) a group in a lesson provided by (i) her Department's language teaching operation and (ii) external language providers contracted to her Department.

Geoff Hoon: The current cost of tuition under the current in-house teaching operation and for external providers contracted by Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Services is:
	
		
			  £ 
			   Individual  Group 
			 FCO Services 55-65 60-80 
			 FCO Services contracted external providers 41 to 70 47 to 70

Departments: Sick Leave

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what percentage of sick leave taken by staff in her Department was stress-related in each of the last three years.

Geoff Hoon: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not keep statistics on reported cases of work-related stress, nor on sickness absences related to stress.
	We attach importance to identifying and tackling causes of stress in the workplace. We published detailed guidance earlier this year for all staff and managers on recognising and dealing with occupational stress. Staff are able to discuss work-related or personal concerns with a trained welfare officer. In addition we provide access for staff both in the UK and overseas to a confidential telephone counselling and advice service.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what new initiatives she has recently discussed with  (a) the Government of Israel and  (b) EU member states in relation to (i) Israeli activity in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and (ii) Israeli settlement building on the E1 plan and elsewhere in the West Bank.

Kim Howells: The UK continues to discuss these issues regularly with the Government of Israel and international partners, including the EU.
	The UK consistently makes clear its view that settlements are illegal under international law and that settlement activity is an obstacle to peace. The Roadmap is clear that Israel should freeze all settlement construction including the "natural growth" of existing settlements and dismantle all outposts built since 2001. Our ambassador in Tel Aviv last raised our concerns about settlement activity with Israeli Foreign Minister Livni on 28 May. We continue to make clear our objection to any settlement activity.
	We are concerned by reports of Israeli construction work at El. The continuing process of establishing settlements is encircling East Jerusalem and breaking up Palestinian territorial contiguity throughout the West Bank. These practices fuel Palestinian anger, threaten to cut East Jerusalem off from the West Bank and undermine the prospect for a viable Palestinian state. We continue to call for Israel to meet its Roadmap commitments on settlements.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Domestic Service: Legal Protection

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what legal protection for the rights of domestic workers have been introduced since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: I have been asked to reply.
	In 1998, arrangements for overseas domestic workers in private households were revised to enable them to change employers in the UK if they had suffered abuse or exploitation, as long as they remained in employment as a domestic worker in a private household. This arrangement was subsequently amended to allow domestic workers to change employer regardless of the reason.
	A regularisation scheme was also established for those who had left their original employer due to abuse or exploitation. Their stay would be regularised for 12 months in the first instance for those that brought themselves to the attention of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate between 23 July 1998 and 23 October 1999.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Community-based Sentencing

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress he has made on the development of community-based sentencing as an alternative to prison in Northern Ireland.

Anne Snelgrove: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what alternatives to prison are being developed in Northern Ireland; and what assessment has been made of the effectiveness of those measures.

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made in developing community-based sentencing as an effective alternative to prison in Northern Ireland.

Maria Eagle: Good progress is being made in developing community-based alternatives to prison—particularly in relation to youth offending where our new system of youth conferencing recently extended across the whole of Northern Ireland. It has enormous potential to divert young people from custody, satisfy the victims of crime that they have a say in the way in which crime is dealt with, and cut re-offending rates significantly.

Social Housing

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will seek discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on increasing the block grant to increase resources available for social housing in Northern Ireland.

Peter Hain: Social housing in Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the devolved administration in Northern Ireland, and it is for the Northern Ireland Executive to decide on the allocation of public expenditure between services in Northern Ireland. But the Chancellor has stated housing will be a priority in his new Cabinet.

Terrorist Groups

Andrew MacKay: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the security threat posed by each of the Irish terrorist groups proscribed under the Terrorism Act 2000.

Paul Goggins: The Provisional IRA no longer poses a terrorist threat, and has not done so for some time. However, Dissident Republicans, though few in number and isolated, continue to pose a serious threat to the security situation.
	Given the recent statement by the UVF, I have commissioned a review of the status of specified organisations in line with my obligation under the legislation. We have always maintained that we will encourage those who want to work to a positive agenda, and it is vital that the welcome statement is followed through with actions.

Police Service

Angela Watkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate he has made of the likely proportion of Catholic officers in the Police Service of Northern Ireland in each year from 2007-08 to 2010-11.

Paul Goggins: The percentage of Catholic officers in PSNI has been forecast as follows:
	
		
			  As at 31 March:  Percentage 
			 2008 24.04 
			 2009 26.28 
			 2010 28.29 
			 2011 30.23

Police Ombudsman

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what mechanisms are in place by which the Police Ombudsman's office can be held accountable in respect of complaints made against her office.

Paul Goggins: The Chief Executive of the Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland is responsible for addressing all maladministration complaints made against the Office, and ensures that all such matters are examined within the Office's Satisfaction Policy and Procedures in place. If complainants are still not satisfied with the explanation given by the Chief Executive, the matter can then be raised with the Secretary of State, who will consider the case independently, and with due consideration given of all the evidence that is made available to him.

Alcoholic Drinks: Young People

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people under the age of 18 years were cautioned for underage drinking by the Police Service of Northern Ireland in each of the last three years.

Paul Goggins: The PSNI have advised the following:
	
		
			  Consuming intoxicating liquor while a minor  Cautions 
			 2004 14 
			 2005 44 
			 2006 60

Departments: European Union

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many officials in his Department are  (a) involved in assisting European Council negotiations,  (b) involved in assisting and advising the European Commission,  (c) seconded to the European Commission,  (d) involved in monitoring EU decisions, communications, regulations and directives,  (e) involved in enforcing compliance with EU decisions, communications, regulations and directives and  (f) involved in other work related to the European Council, Commission or Court of Justice.

Peter Hain: The information sought is as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			  (a) Involved in assisting European Council negotiations 0 
			  (b) Involved in assisting and advising the European Commission 0 
			  (c) Seconded to the European Commission 0 
			  (d) Involved in monitoring EU decisions, communications, regulations and directives 5 
			  (e) Involved in enforcing compliance with EU decisions, communications, regulations and directives 4 
			  (f) Involved in other work related to the European Council, Commission or Court of Justice 2 
		
	
	The staff identified at  (d),  (e) and  (f) do not work full-time on these matters and nor do they have lead responsibility for any of this work. Rather, they are involved on an ad hoc basis, providing advice and Northern Ireland Office input to work for which other Whitehall Departments take the lead.

Departments: Marketing

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which advertising and marketing campaigns were run by his Department in each of the last five years; which external agencies were involved; and what the cost was of each campaign.

Peter Hain: The following table provides details of which advertising and marketing campaigns have been run by my Department and its agencies in each of the last five years. Details of external agencies and costs are also provided in the table.
	
		
			   Advertising/marketing campaign  External agencies involved  Cost (£) 
			 2002-03 Advertising for recruitment of: Anderson Spratt Group 152,526.71 
			  Financial Accountant (B2)   
			  Part-time Teachers Casual Contractors, Escort (Maghaberry and Hydebank Wood)   
			  Principal Psychologist   
			  Deputy Head of Financial Services, DPP   
			  Head of Financial Services, DPP   
			  Electronic Reporting Officer, FSNI   
			  Road Traffic Collision Investigator, FSNI, Permanent Appointment   
			  Senior Legal Assistant, DPP   
			  Legal Assistants, DPP   
			  Grade B1 Finance Accountant,   
			  Grade B2 Finance Accountant   
			  Head of Community Safety Division   
			  Director of Finance and Personnel, NIPS   
			  Information Officer   
			  Senior Records and Information Manager (Grade B2)   
			  Records and Information Manager (Grade C)   
			  IT Professional (B2)   
			  Permanent Appointment, IT Not known 61,733.90 
			  Professional (Grade C), Head of IT Operations and Electronic Engineering Services   
			 
			 2003-04 Staff recruitment of: Anderson Spratt Group 188,059.69 
			  Forensic science staff   
			  Information Officers   
			  Senior Chef,   
			  Consultant Forensic Pathologist   
			  Management Accounting,   
			  Part-time cleaner   
			  Female searchers   
			  Casual contractors, Escort Magilligan,   
			  Head of Pay and Employee Relations   
			  Psychologist (Graduate Trainee)   
			  Head of Estate Management   
			  Head of Personnel   
			  Assistant Cook   
			  Part-time Library Assistant   
			  Kitchen Porter   
			  Driver, Night Patrol Officer   
			  Recruitment for Records   
			  Management staff, 5   
			  Adverts for supply of scientific equipment   
			  Stay safe stay secure   
			  Reclassification of cannabis   
			  NI fireworks Safety Campaign, Schools and Public Awareness   
			 
			 2004-05 Staff recruitment advertising Tim Lewis Recruitment Ltd. 12,008.04 
			   Parity Resources Ltd. 8,446.23 
			   Anderson Spratt Group 232,340.90 
			  Job advertisement for:   
			  Director of Communications Barkers HR Advertising 45,965.65 
			  Stay safe stay secure None 56,777.80 
			  Theft from vehicles None 88,918.96 
			 
			 2005-06 Recruitment of: Anderson Spratt Group 221,158.24 
			  3 Grade A Accountants   
			  1 Grade 5, Head of FSD   
			  2 Grade B2 Accountants   
			  Forensic science staff   
			  Information Officer   
			  Purchase/Procurement manager   
			  Senior buyer/procurement officer   
			  Consultant forensic pathologist   
			  Nursing Officer   
			  Head of Communications and Corporate Affairs   
			  Cleaners   
			  Night Custody Officer   
			  Teachers, Accountant (B)   
			  Recruitment for Chairman and membership of the Parades Commission A V Browne, media booking 37,873.88 
			  Recruitment of Consultant forensic pathologist Midlands Review 495.00 
			  Adverts for supply of scientific equipment and services Anderson Spratt Group 2,228.14 
			  Production costs and media space for Youth Conference Service TV advert Anderson Spratt Group 47,100.00 
			  Unknown callers TV ad   
			   None 56,597.00 
			  Theft from vehicles   
			  Community Safety week Anderson Spratt Group 2,228.14 
			  Unknown caller TV ad Anderson Spratt Group  
			  Theft from vehicles  47,100.00 
			   None  
			   None 56,597.00 
			   None 15,146.41 
			   None 26,196.00 
			   None 58,338.29 
			71,219.16 
			 
			 2006-07 Recruitment for membership of the Parades Commission and Probation Board for NI A V Browne, media booking 24,632.99 
			  Recruitment campaigns for: Anderson Spratt Group 228,391.63 
			  Chief Electoral Officer   
			  Commissioner appointment   
			  Forensic science staff   
			  Consultant forensic pathologist   
			  Senior Psychologist (B1)   
			  Addictions Service Manager (B1)   
			  Prisoner Custody Officer   
			  Teacher, Accountant (B1)   
			  Catering Assistant,   
			  Assistant Cook   
			  Senior Quantity Surveyor (B1)   
			  Vocational Skills Instructor   
			  Teacher   
			  Assistant Cook   
			  Recruitment of:   
			  consultant forensic pathologist   
			  Chief Executive FSNI   
			  Adverts for supply of scientific equipment   
			  Domestic violence*   
			  Knife Carrying*   
			  Project RIOH   
			  Domestic Burglary   
			  Project RIOH   
			  Theft from vehicles   
			  Advertising for:   
			  Consultation on Sects 41 and 8   
			  PACE consultation   
			  Manufacture and storage of explosives

Departments: Older Workers

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of staff in his Department were over 60 years of age in each of the last three years.

Paul Goggins: The percentage of staff in the Northern Ireland Office aged 60 years or over in the last three years is detailed in the following table.
	
		
			   Percentage of staff aged 60 or over 
			 2004 2.64 
			 2005 3.13 
			 2006 3.54

Departments: Pay

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many bonuses were awarded to senior civil servants working at his Department and its agencies in each year between 1997 and 2006; and what the total cost of those bonuses was.

Paul Goggins: Bonuses are used to reward excellent performance and to drive continuous improvement in the NIO. A new performance management system was introduced in 2002 for the senior civil service. As part of this system, a non-consolidated bonus pot was established which the Cabinet Office has increased incrementally year on year. The information set out in the following table relates to the annual performance bonuses paid to NIO staff at senior civil service level between 2002 (based on the 2001-02 reporting year) and 2007 (based on the 2006-07 reporting year).
	
		
			   Number of senior civil service staff who received a bonus  Total cost (£) 
			 2002 32 72,215 
			 2003 29 121,900 
			 2004 36 134,100 
			 2005 38 176,800 
			 2006 38 239,842 
			 2007 39 278,650 
		
	
	All of these bonus payments are non-consolidated and non-pensionable and therefore do not have associated future costs for paybill.

Departments: Publications

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many copies of the Northern Ireland Office publication Peacemaking in Northern Ireland: A Model for Conflict Resolution were produced; what the cost was of producing the document; and to whom it was distributed.

Peter Hain: 6,000 copies of the publication 'Peacemaking in Northern Ireland: A Model for Conflict Resolution' were produced.
	The production cost for the document was £3,950 and it was distributed to a wide range of individuals and organisations locally, nationally and internationally and has been well received.

Departments: Remploy

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what  (a) services and  (b) products his Department has procured from Remploy in the last 12 months; and at what cost.

Peter Hain: The Northern Ireland Office (NIO), excluding its agencies and NDPBs, uses the Ministry of Justice procurement systems and the Office of Government Commerce on line call off procurement services. To date Remploy have not featured in either of those sources. We are aware of the services they offer and subject to our value for money and sustainable development criteria being met would consider a Remploy tender via those procurement channels.

Departments: Sick Leave

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of sick leave taken by staff in his Department was stress-related in each of the last three years.

Paul Goggins: The percentage of working days lost within the Northern Ireland Office due to stress related illness in the last three years is as follows:
	
		
			   Percentage 
			 2003-04 21.0 
			 2004-05 13.5 
			 2005-06 25.5 
		
	
	These figures have been taken from information supplied by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency.
	The Department takes all absences, in particular stress related illness, very seriously and is currently examining any underlying reasons.

Prisoners Release: Northern Ireland

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many prisoners released early on licence in Northern Ireland have had their licences revoked in each of the last three years; and what the reasons were for the revocation in each case.

Paul Goggins: The power to revoke the licences of prisoners released early under the Northern Ireland (Sentences) Act 1998 lies with the Sentence Review Commissioners (SRC). The exercise of this power follows the suspension of the licences of those persons by the Secretary of State. The numbers of licence suspensions and revocations in each of the last three years are as follows:
	
		
			   Number suspended  Number revoked 
			 2004 1 — 
			 2005 5 — 
			 2006 3 1 
			 2007 (as at 22 June) 1 — 
		
	
	All the persons whose licences have been suspended were believed to have become a danger to the public. In addition, four individuals were also believed to have become concerned again in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism—the single 2004 suspension, two of the 2005 suspensions and one of the 2006 suspensions. Furthermore, in one of the 2005 suspension cases the individual concerned was believed to have again become a supporter of a specified organisation.
	The 2006 revocation decision by the SRC in one of these cases was in confirmation of the belief that that person had become a danger to the public. Determination by the SRC remains outstanding on seven of the other nine cases referred to above. Of the two other cases one licence was reinstated and the other individual died in custody.

Robert McCartney

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made in the investigation into the murder of Robert McCartney.

Paul Goggins: The person charged with the murder of Mr. McCartney remains on remand. A file has been sent to the Public Prosecution Service for consideration.
	PSNI advise that this remains an active investigation, with particular emphasis on the need for witnesses to come forward.

Speed Limits: Cameras

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many mobile speed traps operated in  (a) each constituency and  (b) each council area in Northern Ireland in each of the last three years.

Paul Goggins: The PSNI have advised that the information is not collated in the format requested. Information is available by district command unit which is co-terminus with council area.
	
		
			  District command unit (DCU)  2004 (April( 1) -December)  2005 (January-December)  2006 (January-December) 
			 Antrim 35 42 32 
			 Ards 109 167 151 
			 Armagh 10 4 17 
			 Ballymena 55 44 27 
			 Ballymoney 14 17 36 
			 Banbridge 91 122 72 
			 Carrickfergus 76 100 80 
			 Castlereagh 282 346 350 
			 Coleraine 19 43 24 
			 Cookstown 5 23 18 
			 Craigavon 8 2 8 
			 Down 12 44 6 
			 Dungannon and South Tyrone 12 22 47 
			 East Belfast 197 250 171 
			 Fermanagh 17 29 8 
			 Foyle 55 67 49 
			 Larne 0 0 274 
			 Limavady 8 58 14 
			 Lisburn 26 93 79 
			 Magherafelt 29 44 29 
			 Moyle 19 14 16 
			 North Down 178 282 275 
			 N'Abbey 102 136 78 
			 Newry and Mourne 59 74 58 
			 North Belfast 200 296 210 
			 Omagh 55 70 21 
			 South Belfast 231 269 229 
			 Strabane 0 0 0 
			 West Belfast 156 272 361 
			 (1) Figures were not collated centrally until April 2004.  Notes:  1. To date Strabane has no camera safety sites and therefore nil return. 2. Larne DCU had no site in 2004 and 2005. 3. In Down DCU the vehicle was defective from November 2005 to July 2006. 4. In Fermanagh and Omagh DCUs the vehicle was defective from April 2006 to October 2006.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Broadband: Rural Areas

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what correspondence he has had with internet providers about people in rural communities who cannot receive broadband and for whom dial-up connection will be phased out.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 4 June 2007
	I have had no such correspondence with internet service providers.
	There are currently no plans to phase out dial-up internet. The universal service obligation on BT and Kingston to provide telephony and functional internet access remains in place. This means that everyone who has a telephone connection has the potential to access a dial-up internet service. In addition to this, 99.6 per cent. of households are connected to a broadband enabled exchange.
	The European Commission plans to review the scope of universal service next year and access to broadband is one of the issues that the Government will ensure is at the centre of the debate.

Business: Government Assistance

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the merits of providing for Government aid to industries in need of restructuring or short-term financial assistance; and what discussions he has had with the Trades Union Congress on this matter.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 19 June 2007
	We are spending money to support industry but we only do so where the intervention will be effective in securing a sustainable future for the company. Where there are no such prospects the intervention usually distorts competition, prevents the emergence of new companies and inhibits innovation.
	Support for business is available through a range of measures: Selective finance for industry (SFI), DTI business support and the R and D tax credit. Government will consider support where it helps enhance UK competitiveness and productivity.
	Support for industry must be compatible with the EU rules on state aid. These increasingly favour aid for small, growth businesses and aid for research, innovation and environmental enhancement, rather than aid for companies in difficulty. The Government support this.
	The Secretary of State last met the TUC to discuss state aid and support for industry champions at the TUC conference in September 2006.

Consumer Goods: Labelling

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what regulatory regime governs the display of ingredients on  (a) alcoholic,  (b) tobacco and  (c) cosmetic products; and if he will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: The Department of Trade and industry is not responsible for regulations covering alcohol or tobacco products. These are matters for the Department of Health.
	As regards cosmetic products, all such products sold in the UK must comply with The Cosmetic Products (Safety) Regulations 2004 (as amended). The regulations implement the requirements of the European Directive on cosmetic products and require that all the cosmetic products supplied to consumers must be safe under normal or reasonably foreseeable conditions of use. They must also be labelled with a list of their ingredients in descending order of weight.

Economic Growth

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what figures his Department records relating to recent  (a) investment levels and  (b) business growth, broken down by constituency.

Margaret Hodge: Data on investment levels are not available at constituency level. Data are produced at regional level by the Office for National Statistics and can be found at:
	www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/gva1003.pdf
	Data on the growth in the number of VAT registered businesses in each of the 640 parliamentary constituencies, can be calculated from data published by the DTI at:
	www.dtistats.net/smes/vat
	For illustrative purposes this is calculated for Torbay parliamentary constituency. Between the start of 2001 and 2006 the number of VAT registered businesses in Torbay constituency increased by 135, or 6 per cent.
	Data on employment and turnover growth in existing businesses are not available at constituency level. They are published by DTI at the regional level and are available at:
	www.dtistats.net/smes/sme
	Calculated by dividing the change in stock between 2001and 2006 by the 2001 start of year stock.

Iran: Export Credit Guarantees

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the answer of 18 June 2007,  Official Report, columns 1492-3W, on Iran: export credit guarantees, when the arrangement that Ministers should be consulted before export credit cover is provided to Iran was made; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Darling: On 13 April 2007, I asked ECGD to consult me before any new cover was provided for exports to Iran.

New Businesses: Suffolk

Richard Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many new businesses established in Suffolk received Government funding assistance in each of the last five years.

Margaret Hodge: Unfortunately, departmental and RDA management information systems do not differentiate between new and existing Suffolk businesses in receipt of government funding.
	However, data are available for the total number of businesses in receipt of financial support in Suffolk for the five year period ending 31 March 2007 (unless otherwise stated).
	(a) 85 businesses were supported via the Business Advice and Support programme. These businesses were provided with support to a maximum of £250.
	(b) 7 companies received Regional Selective Assistance (RSA) and Enterprise Grant (now Selective Finance for Investment in England (SFIE).
	(c) 18 companies received R and D Grants (formerly SMART awards) between 2003 and 2006.
	(d) 299 companies received Small Firms Loans Guarantees.
	In addition to which, Business Link and Local Enterprise Agencies provided advice to 2,609 new businesses to help them start-up. And Business Link Suffolk provided European Social Fund backed training to 702 businesses.

Post Offices: Reform

Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the departmental annual report for 2006, page 188, J8, how much has been paid in fees to advisers in connection with the proposed restructuring of the post office network, broken down by  (a) adviser and  (b) category of advice; and what estimate he has made of the final overall expenditure in relation to such advice.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Since December 2005, the Department has used Deloitte and Herbert Smith to provide financial and legal advice respectively relating to POL and the Government's support for the company. The individual fees for these advisers are commercially confidential. The combined final estimate for the cost of this advice is just under £800,000.

Regulations: British Overseas Territories

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will set out how each recommendation of the 1998 Edwards report into the regulation regime in Britain's overseas dependent territories has been implemented.

Edward Balls: I have been asked to reply.
	The 1998 Edwards report covered Crown Dependencies (Isle of Man, Jersey, Guernsey) and not Overseas Dependent Territories.
	I understand that Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man have implemented the majority of the recommendations made in the Edwards report. More detailed information about implementation of particular recommendations can most easily be obtained through contact with the relevant Crown Dependency.

South East Development Agency: Chelsea Flower Show

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what expenditure the South East England Development Agency has undertaken in relation to the Chelsea Flower Show in each of the last three years.

Margaret Hodge: The RDA is responsible for decisions on expenditure. In 2007 South East England Development Agency spent £88,000 at Chelsea Flower Show. This expenditure included a garden in the lifelong learning section to showcase new scientific and innovative uses of plants. This was done in partnership with South East agricultural colleges and they received a gold medal for plants with industrial uses. Investment in 2006 was £10,800 which part sponsored two gardens which highlighted the importance of the horticulture sector in industry and sustainable development. They did not invest in the show in 2005.

South East Development Agency: Taxis

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much the South East Development Agency has spent on taxis in the last two years for which figures are available.

Margaret Hodge: South East England Regional Development Agency (SEEDA) has several company accounts for cars and taxis. The cost for car and taxi services invoiced to them was £62,006 in 2005-06 and £79,026 in 2006-07. The contracts for the larger company accounts are tendered.
	In addition, SEEDA staff have claimed for other taxi costs on individual expense claim forms, but accounting information on this is held combined with other travel and accommodation expenses and cannot be supplied due to disproportionate costs of manual disaggregation.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan: Politics and Government

John MacDougall: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the security situation in Afghanistan.

Des Browne: holding answer 15 June 2007
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the right hon. Member for Gordon (Malcolm Bruce) on 18 June,  Official Report, columns 1069-1071.

Armed Forces: Deployment

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reason military personnel have been transported by road from RAF bases in Scotland to Brize Norton for deployment to theatre; and how much rest time they have been granted on arrival in theatre before commencing air patrols.

Adam Ingram: The air-bridge to Iraq and Afghanistan operates from RAF Brize Norton. Where possible, military personnel based at Scottish RAF bases are moved to RAF Brize Norton by RAF Air Transport for onward transport to operational theatres. However, in order to make the optimum use of available aircraft this is not always possible, particularly for moves of small numbers of personnel or individuals. Guaranteeing the overseas air programme has to remain the priority.
	Personnel on arrival in theatre have a minimum period of rest and acclimatisation of 48 hours prior to assignment to air patrols. This period can be reduced by operational commanders if required and it is assessed that doing so would not increase the risk to flight safety.

Armed Forces: Housing

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service personnel in the  (a) Army,  (b) Royal Navy and  (c) Royal Air Force were living in substitute single service accommodation in each year since 1997.

Derek Twigg: Since 1997, the number of service personnel living in Substitute Single Service Accommodation (SSSA) in Great Britain is provided in the following table:
	
		
			  Financial year  Army  Navy  RAF 
			 2006-07 2,536 1,426 906 
			 2005-06 2,120 1,332 865 
			 2004-05 2,006 1,328 816 
			 2003-04 1,841 1,393 687 
			 2002-03 1,683 1,523 587 
			 2001-02 1,606 1,442 455 
			 2000-01 1,382 1,281 385 
			 1999-2000 1,048 1,573 372 
			 1998-99 933 1,508 310 
			 1997-98 665 1,234 199 
			 1996-97 26 100 7 
		
	
	In financial year 1996-97, this Department commenced a new contract with a specialist rented property locator, to provide SSSA across Great Britain. The number of personnel living in SSSA is low for this period, as the contract commenced near the end of the financial year.

Armed Forces: Housing

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether families are allowed to view Ministry of Defence accommodation before occupying it.

Derek Twigg: The allocation system does not allow accommodation to be viewed before families move. This is currently being reviewed.

Armed Forces: Housing

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service families have been moved from Modern Housing Solutions-maintained accommodation into temporary private accommodation in each of the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: Officials are working to establish the information requested. Once information is available, I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Armed Forces: Housing

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many gas leaks have been reported in Modern Housing Solutions-maintained accommodation in each of the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: It is not possible to separately identify the number of gas leaks reported.
	When occupants of service families accommodation contact Modern Housing Solutions to report a gas leak, the report is passed to Transco, who attend the property to identify the problem and make things safe.

Armed Forces: Mass Media

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence who the duty Minister was on the day the decision was taken to allow the service personnel released by Iran to sell their stories to the media.

Des Browne: As the Secretary of State, decisions on certain issues are referred to me rather than the duty Minister. The sale of stories to the media by the service personnel released by Iran was one such issue. Between 5-7 April, the duty Minister for other issues was my right hon. Friend the Minister of State for the Armed Forces. On 8 and 9 April, the duty Minister was my noble Friend the Minister of State for Defence Equipment and Support.

Armed Forces: Medical Examinations

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many  (a) serving personnel and  (b) veterans passed through the Medical Assessment Programme in each year since it was established for (i) physical and (ii) mental health conditions and (iii) in total.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 14 June 2007
	 The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Armoured Fighting Vehicles

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of the future utility vehicles forming part of the Future Rapid Effect System are  (a) expected to be air-transportable in one future A400M Aircraft and  (b) within the whole airlift capability for a single operation.

Adam Ingram: We expect the A400M to be able to carry one FRES utility vehicle. Airlift capacity for a single operation would be dependent on the scale, speed and distance of the deployment.

Armoured Fighting Vehicles

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the role and function of the future utility vehicle will be as part of the Future Rapid Effect System.

Adam Ingram: These vehicles will carry out the protected mobility, command and control, light armoured support, medical, repair and recovery and driver training roles. Other elements of the Utility fleet, to be delivered in later planned increments, include specialist communications, electronic warfare and sensors vehicles.

Armoured Fighting Vehicles: Procurement

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the future rapid effect system programme will include a tracked variant of the  (a) utility,  (b) reconnaissance and  (c) heavy vehicles.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 21 June 2007
	It is not envisaged that the FRES utility vehicle will be a tracked vehicle. The FRES reconnaissance and heavy requirements are however, expected to be predominantly met by tracked vehicles, although decisions regarding these vehicles will not be finalised until the main investment decision has been taken.

Armoured Fighting Vehicles: Procurement

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what  (a) development and  (b) procurement programmes are being funded by his Department for the securing of effective armour for UK armed forces land vehicles.

Adam Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the answer which my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence gave on 18 June 2007,  Official Report, column 1443W.

Chiefs of Staff: Powers

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what strategic  (a) planning and  (b) supervisory roles are currently assigned to the Chiefs of Staff (i) individually and (ii) as a committee; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: The Chiefs of Staff Committee, chaired by the CDS, is the principal forum in which collective military advice is garnered and through which CDS discharges his responsibility for the preparation and conduct of military operations and the formulation of military strategy. CDS is also responsible for the provision of military advice to the Secretary of State and the Prime Minister. The single-Service Chiefs of Staff contribute to this role by providing advice on the employment of their respective service.
	The Chiefs of Staff are also members of the Defence Management Board which directs and coordinates the delivery of core Defence outputs. As members of the Defence Management Board the Chiefs of Staff are individually accountable for the delivery of military capability generated by their Service; the fighting effectiveness and efficiency of the forces both now and in the future; and the morale of their personnel.

Defence Equipment: Saudi Arabia

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which officials of the Defence Export Services Agency were interviewed by the Serious Fraud Office as part of its recent inquiry into defence sales to Saudi Arabia; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: The Ministry of Defence co-operated fully with the Serious Fraud Office investigation. As the Attorney-General said in his statement in another place on 14 December 2006,  Official Report, columns 1712-13, 'public comment about the case must inevitably be limited in order to avoid causing unfairness to individuals who have been the subject of investigation'. The details of who was interviewed remain confidential.

Defence Export Services Organisation: Saudi Arabia

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Defence Export Services Organisation staff work for the Saudi Armed Forces Project; what management fee was received from Saudi Arabia to cover the cost of the project in financial years  (a) 2005-06 and  (b) 2006-07; what in addition to salaries this fee covered; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: The Saudi Armed Forces Project employs 200 staff across the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia. Aside from salary and salary related costs, the project's operating expenditure includes the costs of office and domestic accommodation, personnel travel and subsistence, IT and telecommunications, training and professional fees and utilities.
	The project's operating expenditure is covered in full by a management fee received from the Saudi Arabian Government, but details of the fee are confidential between the two Governments. I am withholding the details as they would, or would be likely to prejudice international relations and harm the interests of the United Kingdom.

Defence: Procurement

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether defence contractors are under any obligations to seek ministerial clearance for payments to overseas nationals in connection with defence contracts.

Adam Ingram: Defence contractors are not under any obligation to seek ministerial clearance for payments to overseas nationals in connection with defence sales contracts.

Iraq

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the oral answer of 18 June 2007,  Official Report, columns 1068-69, on Iraq, on what date it was decided that troops in theatre in Iraq would not face a threat from weapons of mass destruction other than from pre-1991 stocks, chlorine bombs or similar items held by insurgents.

Des Browne: holding answer 21 June 2007
	 In the period following the formal cessation of hostilities, it was assessed that the threat to troops from weapons of mass destruction had decreased such that standard protective measures could be reduced. The precise moment will have depended on unit roles and tasks.

Iraq: Peace Keeping Operations

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many UK  (a) civilian and  (b) military personnel were (i) killed and (ii) injured in the Iraqi provinces of (A) Al Basrah, (B) Al Muthanna, (C) Dhi Qar and (D) Maysan in each month from March 2003 to December 2005; and how many attacks on multi-national forces were recorded in each Iraqi province during that period.

Des Browne: holding answer 4 June 2007
	The following figures are produced from the most complete record of events within Multi National Division (South East) and are for the period between March 2003 and December 2005. Each record is not specifically verified and so cannot be guaranteed to be completely accurate.
	The figures include incidents that involved the employment of improvised explosive devices, rockets, mortars, rocket propelled grenades, grenades, small arms and other weapons such as petrol bombs or knives, but not the throwing of stones. Number of Attacks on MNF by Province
	
		
			  Years/province  Month  Attacks on MNF 
			  2003   
			 Al Muthanna March 0 
			  April 0 
			  May 0 
			  June 0 
			  July 0 
			  August 6 
			  September 0 
			  October 2 
			  November 2 
			  December 8 
			 Basrah March 0 
			  April 0 
			  May 0 
			  June 20 
			  July 29 
			  August 82 
			  September 26 
			  October 53 
			  November 25 
			  December 23 
			 Dhi Qar March 0 
			  April 0 
			  May 0 
			  June 1 
			  July 4 
			  August 7 
			  September 3 
			  October 2 
			  November 3 
			  December 1 
			 Maysan March 0 
			  April 0 
			  May 0 
			  June 5 
			  July 7 
			  August 12 
			  September 7 
			  October 12 
			  November 7 
			  December 8 
			  2004   
			 Al Muthanna January 0 
			  February 2 
			  March 2 
			  April 7 
			  May 10 
			  June 1 
			  July 3 
			  August 13 
			  September 2 
			  October 4 
			  November 3 
			  December 2 
			 Basrah January 1 
			  February 11 
			  March 20 
			  April 37 
			  May 86 
			  June 36 
			  July 27 
			  August 143 
			  September 76 
			  October 39 
			  November 18 
			  December 27 
			 Dhi Qar January 1 
			  February 7 
			  March 3 
			  April 14 
			  May 41 
			  June 9 
			  July 5 
			  August 28 
			  September 3 
			  October 8 
			  November 11 
			  December 1 
			 Maysan January 0 
			  February 3 
			  March 6 
			  April 68 
			  May 119 
			  June 51 
			  July 6 
			  August 337 
			  September 8 
			  October 6 
			  November 4 
			  December 4 
			  2005   
			 Al Muthanna January 1 
			  February 3 
			  March 2 
			  April 0 
			  May 0 
			  June 3 
			  July 2 
			  August 0 
			  September 1 
			  October 1 
			  November 5 
			  December 2 
			 Basrah January 31 
			  February 9 
			  March 5 
			  April 3 
			  May 16 
			  June 6 
			  July 11 
			  August 8 
			  September 32 
			  October 24 
			  November 8 
			  December 17 
			 DhiQar January 4 
			  February 1 
			  March 3 
			  April 4 
			  May 1 
			  June 4 
			  July 2 
			  August 2 
			  September 3 
			  October 3 
			  November 3 
			  December 0 
			 Maysan January 4 
			  February 3 
			  March 7 
			  April 9 
			  May 9 
			  June 22 
			  July 13 
			  August 23 
			  September 8 
			  October 10 
			  November 20 
			  December 7 
		
	
	It is not possible to break down the number of persons killed and injured in each attack as requested. The total number of UK military and civilian personnel killed and injured between March 2003 and December 2005 is provided on the MOD website at:
	http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/FactSheets/OperationsFactsheets/OperationsInlraqBritishCasualties.htm.
	The information on the website does not include UK civilians employed or contracted by other Government Departments or by civilian contractors. This information is not held by the MOD.

Iraq: Peace Keeping Operations

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the operational ability of Lynx helicopters serving in the Persian Gulf has been affected by high air temperatures.

Adam Ingram: The performance of all helicopters is affected by variations in air temperature, but Lynx helicopters serving in the Persian Gulf are capable of performing all their assigned tasks.

Iraq: Peace Keeping Operations

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with senior members of the armed forces on the operational suitability of combat footwear issued to UK forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Adam Ingram: Following comments from Telic and Herrick in June 2006, alternative boots were provided and sizing advice was offered to units. In addition, a trial to select new commercially available desert boots is due to complete during 2007. This will allow a new boot to be issued to all troops deploying in the autumn and a second alternative boot to be available from early 2008—thus offering some degree of choice. The Department has also initiated a project to introduce a web-based application for the controlled supply of personal clothing to provide service personnel with the ability to order from an online catalogue, with item(s) despatched to an address of choice. This could eventually change the way that items such as boots are provided.

Missile Defence Technology Centre

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made on development of the Missile Defence Technology Centre; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: The UK Missile Defence Centre was founded on 18 July 2003 with a six-year mandate. It has just begun its fifth year. The Missile Defence Centre continues to focus on providing scientific and technical advice to the Ministry of Defence on strategic missile defence matters, and supports UK industrial opportunities in this area.

Nuclear Submarines: Procurement

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to order an eighth SSN.

Adam Ingram: Three Astute Class submarines are on order with BAES and a further order was placed on 21 May 2007,  Official Report, column 55-56WS to commence the build of the fourth boat.
	Further boat orders are being considered, subject to affordability. We are working with industry as part of the Defence Industrial Strategy to achieve an affordable and sustainable submarine programme.

Unidentified Flying Objects

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reason his Secretariat (Air Staff)/Defence Secretariat did not receive a copy of the report on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena produced by the Defence Intelligence Staff; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 26 June 2007
	The report was distributed to those areas of the Department who were considered to have most interest in the findings, including parts of the RAF.

Vanguard Submarines

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he plans to prolong the operational life of the Vanguard class submarine beyond 30 years.

Adam Ingram: There are no plans to extend the Vanguard submarines beyond 30 years.

Veterans Day

Don Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which applicants have been  (a) successful and  (b) unsuccessful in bids to obtain funding to mark Veterans Day 2007; and the amounts received by each.

Derek Twigg: 220 bids have been received requesting funding for Veterans Day 2007 events. Bids were assessed against well-publicised criteria setting out the objectives and key messages that events would need to support; where bids were initially non-compliant, efforts were generally made to explain how they might be modified to meet the criteria. Funding was allocated accordingly. The successful and unsuccessful applicants, together with the grants allocated to the former, are listed as follows:
	
		
			  Successful veterans' day bids 
			  Organization  Allocated (£) 
			 Birmingham 25,000.00 
			 Dundee 10,000.00 
			 Weymouth 10,000.00 
			 Blackpool 10,000.00 
			 Nottingham 10,000.00 
			 National Memorial Arboretum 10,000.00 
			 Plymouth 8,000.00 
			 Torquay / Torbay 8,000.00 
			 Hull 8,000.00 
			 Cornwall RBL 8,000.00 
			 Southend 8,000.00 
			 Portsmouth 7,500.00 
			 Trowbridge 7,000.00 
			 Cardiff 7,000.00 
			 Caernarfon 7,000.00 
			 Liverpool (Walton) 7,000.00 
			 Carrickfergus (N. Ireland) 7,000.00 
			 Norwich EE Regt 6,000.00 
			 Craigavon 6,000.00 
			 Southport 5,400.00 
			 Moortown 5,000.00 
			 Leeds 5,000.00 
			 Wallasey 5,000.00 
			 Sedgefield 5,000.00 
			 Gwent County RBL 5,000.00 
			 Coleraine 5,000.00 
			 Bradford 4,600.00 
			 Warminster 4,000.00 
			 Worthing (Sussex) 4,000.00 
			 Whitby 4,000.00 
			 Barrow (Submarines Heritage Centre) 4,000.00 
			 Durham 3,500.00 
			 Chatham 3,500.00 
			 Sleaford 3,500.00 
			 Tipton RBL 3,500.00 
			 New Forest (Council) 3,500.00 
			 Essex Loughton 3,400.00 
			 Luton 3,000.00 
			 Basildon Essex 3,000.00 
			 Walsall 2,500.00 
			 Coventry and Baginton 2,500.00 
			 Ramsgate 2,250.00 
			 Peranporth 2,000.00 
			 Melton Mowbray 2,000.00 
			 Orpington (Kent) RBL 2,000.00 
			 East Yorkshire 2,000.00 
			 Bilston West Midlands 1,750.00 
			 Ludlow RBL 1,500.00 
			 Heathfield 1,500.00 
			 Blaina RBL 1,500.00 
			 Isle of Man 1,500.00 
			 Conisbrough 1,250.00 
			 Eastriggs (Annan) 1,200.00 
			 Leicester 1,200.00 
			 Kelso 1,150.00 
			 Barnet council 1,100.00 
			 Folkestone 1,000.00 
			 Surrey RBL 1,000.00 
			 Somerset RBL 1,000.00 
			 Kings Lynn 1,000.00 
			 Malton (Eden Camp) 1,000.00 
			 Sheffield City (Council) 1,000.00 
			 Londonderry 1,000.00 
			 Shipdham (Norfolk) 1,000.00 
			 Whittlesey RBL 1,000.00 
			 Cranbourne and Winkfield RBL 1,000.00 
			 Eyemouth RBL 1,000.00 
			 South West Ham RBL 1,000.00 
			 Exbury Gardens 1,000.00 
			 Halesworth RBL 1,000.00 
			 Ellesmere Port 1,000.00 
			 Maldon 1,000.00 
			 Weaverham RBL 1,000.00 
			 Newbiggin RBL 850.00 
			 Uckfield 800.00 
			 Hartland RBL 800.00 
			 Llandudno 800.00 
			 Livingston 790.00 
			 Kent SSAFA 750.00 
			 Leicester 750.00 
			 Devon 750.00 
			 Spore and District RBL 750.00 
			 Penzance RBL 750.00 
			 Isle of Wight RBL 750.00 
			 Devon 750.00 
			 Bootle 600.00 
			 Tywyn and District RBL 600.00 
			 Ashington 500.00 
			 Manchester 500.00 
			 Essex Benfleet 500.00 
			 Duns Scotland 500.00 
			 Selby 500.00 
			 Harwich 500.00 
			 Epsom 500.00 
			 Halton RBL 500.00 
			 Banbury 500.00 
			 Standish 500.00 
			 East Grinstead 500.00 
			 Sheffield 500.00 
			 Limavady RBL 500.00 
			 Salford 500.00 
			 Doncaster 500.00 
			 Stratford on Avon 500.00 
			 Bristol 500.00 
			 Ipswich 500.00 
			 Wakefield 352.50 
			 Nottingham 300.00 
			 Southgate (N London) 290.00 
			 Brecon 250.00 
			 Purfleet 250.00 
			 Oakdale Junior School 200.00 
			 Hastings and St. Leonards 150.00 
			 Wickford RBL (Essex) 100.00 
			   
			  Unsuccessful veterans day bids  
			 Abergavenny 0 
			 Aberystwith RBL Bid 1 0 
			 Aberystwith RBL Bid 2 0 
			 Alvechurch (Worcester) 0 
			 Ballymena 0 
			 Belize RBL 0 
			 Birkenhead 0 
			 Birkenhead 0 
			 Birmingham Irish Community Forum 0 
			 Birmingham St. Mark's Community Church 0 
			 Birmingham Shard End Local History Society 0 
			 Birmingham Nautical Club 0 
			 Bishop's Storford 0 
			 Blackburn RBL 0 
			 Blackpool 0 
			 Bridgend 0 
			 Bristol 0 
			 Bristol 0 
			 Brombrough 0 
			 Brotton Over 60s Club 0 
			 Burgess Hill 0 
			 Bury St. Edmonds 0 
			 Caerphilly (Council) 0 
			 Caerphilly RBL 0 
			 Canterbury 0 
			 Cheshire 0 
			 Chingford RBL 0 
			 Chislehurst RBL 0 
			 Christchurch RBL 0 
			 Churchstoke RBL 0 
			 Clevedon (Somerset) 0 
			 Coleford RBL (Glos) 0 
			 Coleraine 0 
			 Coleraine 0 
			 Collingham (Leeds) 0 
			 Crawley 0 
			 Darlington 0 
			 Derbyshire RBL 0 
			 Dewsbury RBL 0 
			 Doncaster 0 
			 Dorset 0 
			 Downham and Terrington RBL 0 
			 Dudley 0 
			 Eastbourne 0 
			 Enfield (N London) 0 
			 Erskine, Scotland 0 
			 Essex 0 
			 Fazakerley RBL 0 
			 Fleetwood 0 
			 Gateshead 0 
			 Hartlepool 0 
			 Hendon (NW London) 0 
			 Holywell 0 
			 Ipswich RBL 0 
			 Isle of Man 0 
			 Keith RBL (Scotland) 0 
			 Lechlade 0 
			 Leeds (Normandy Vets) 0 
			 Leeds Bramley 0 
			 Leominster RBL 0 
			 Littlebourne RBL 0 
			 Liverpool 0 
			 Llanelli 0 
			 London 0 
			 Luton 0 
			 Machynlleth RBL 0 
			 Maidenhead 0 
			 Middlesborough/Cleveland 0 
			 Middlesex 0 
			 National Mem Arboretum 0 
			 Newbury 0 
			 Newhaven 0 
			 Newhaven 0 
			 Newtownards RBL 0 
			 Northampton 0 
			 Northampton RBL 0 
			 Nuneaton 0 
			 Olney 0 
			 Para Assoc Scotland 0 
			 Pearl Lakes Caravan Park 0 
			 Pelsall, West Midlands 0 
			 Penrith 0 
			 Pentonville 0 
			 Plymouth 0 
			 Pontypridd 0 
			 Portishead 0 
			 Pudsey 0 
			 Reading RMA 0 
			 Ross and Cromarty 0 
			 Royston RBL 0 
			 Ruislip 0 
			 Salford 0 
			 Salford 0 
			 Sandbach (Cheshire) 0 
			 Seaham RBL 0 
			 Spain RBL 0 
			 Spalding 0 
			 St. Asaph RBL 0 
			 St. Just Town Council RBL 0 
			 Stoke on Trent 0 
			 Sunderland 0 
			 Thirsk RBL 0 
			 Todmorden 0 
			 TRBL Surrey 0 
			 Trebah, Cornwall 0 
			 W Midlands HMS Sheffield 0 
			 Waddington 0 
			 Whittlesey 0 
			 Wigan 0 
			 Wigan 0 
			 Willenhall 0

Warships: Procurement

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many jobs his Department estimates will be created in the UK through the construction of  (a) Type 45 destroyers,  (b) Astute class submarines and  (c) future aircraft carriers; and what assessment he has made of the likely effect of these projects on the level of skills in the work force.

Adam Ingram: Around 8,000 personnel are currently employed by BAES and VT on surface ship and submarine business for the UK MOD in Glasgow, Barrow-in-Furness and Portsmouth. We expect current and planned programmes to ensure the retention of shipbuilding skills and expertise in the short to medium term. The Defence Industrial Strategy defined the key maritime industrial skills and capabilities we need to retain on shore to support the needs of the Royal Navy in the longer term and we are working with the shipbuilding industry to agree the core workload required to sustain these high-end design, systems engineering and combat systems integration skills across the maritime sector.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Council Tax: Valuation

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government for how many residential properties in England the Valuation Office Agency has  (a) dwelling house codes and  (b) value significant codes data.

Phil Woolas: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 28 March 2007,  Official Report, columns 1596-97W to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles).

Council Tax: Valuation

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Meriden of 6 December 2006,  Official Report, column 475W, on the Valuation Office Agency, how many domestic dwellings in England are recorded by the Valuation Office as having the property attribute of having four or more bedrooms.

Phil Woolas: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) on 28 March 2007,  Official Report, columns 1596-97W.

Council Tax: Valuation

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many dwellings in England are classified by the Valuation Office Agency with a Dwellinghouse code of CD (Caravan).

Phil Woolas: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) on 28 March 2007,  Official Report, columns 1596-97W.

Council Tax: Valuation

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what definition the Valuation Office Agency uses to classify a bedroom in a domestic dwelling for council tax valuation purposes.

Phil Woolas: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) on 28 March 2007,  Official Report, columns 1596-97W.

Council Tax: Valuation

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 6 December 2006,  Official Report, column 475W, on the Valuation Office Agency, whether a room with a lavatory and without a bath is classified as a bathroom.

Phil Woolas: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) on 28 March 2007,  Official Report, columns 1596-97W.

Departments: Marketing

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which advertising and marketing campaigns were run by  (a) her Department and  (b) its agencies in each of the last five years; which external agencies were involved; and what the cost was of each campaign.

Angela Smith: In 2002-03 the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister ran the following advertising and marketing campaign:
	 Fire Safety
	The external agencies were EURO RSCG for advertising; Carat for media planning and media buying; and COI for public relations and partnership marketing. Total spend was £4.8 million.
	In 2003-04 the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister ran the following advertising and marketing campaign:
	 Fire Safety
	The external agencies were EURO RSCG for advertising; Carat for media planning and media buying; and COI for PR and partnership marketing. Total spend was £6.3 million.
	In 2004-05 the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister ran the following advertising and marketing campaigns:
	 Fire Safety
	The external agencies were EURO RSCG for advertising; Carat for media planning and media buying; and COI for public relations and partnership marketing. Total spend was £5.7million.
	 Elected Regional Assemblies
	The external agencies were Robson Brown for design events and advertising, and Carat for media planning and buying. Total spend was £3.24 million.
	In 2005-06, our predecessor department the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister ran the following advertising and marketing campaigns
	 Fire Safety Campaign
	The external agencies were EURO RSCG for advertising and COI for public relations, partnership marketing and media buying. Total spend was £4.3 million.
	 Part P of the Building Regulations
	The external agencies were COI for media buying and Tempo for design and graphic production. Total spend was £120,000.
	 Home Information Packs
	The external agencies were Leo Burnett for advertising; Bandon Brown for public relations and publicity; Carat for media planning; COI for media buying; and Redhouse Lane for graphic design. Total spend was £706,000.
	 Houses of Multiple Occupancy
	The external agencies were EURO RSCG for advertising; Amazon for public relations and publicity; Carat for media planning; and COI for media buying. Total spend was £1.4 million.
	Figures for advertising and marketing campaigns in the financial year 2006-07 were published in the Department's Annual Report on 17 May 2007, which is available in the Libraries of the House.
	Figures for external agencies could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Government policies and programmes affect the lives of millions of people and may save lives, as with Fire Safety. They must be communicated effectively to meet our duty to inform and in order for policies to be successful. There are strict rules to ensure value for money on Government advertising.

Departments: Sick Leave

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what percentage of sick leave taken by staff in her Department was stress-related in each of the last three years.

Angela Smith: In each of the last three years the percentage of sick leave which is recorded as stress related is; 2006-07: 8.7 per cent., 2005-06: 8.6 per cent., 2004-05: 8.2 per cent.
	Our staff handbook provides information for staff and managers on stress in the workplace. The Department offers counselling and support services to staff and guidance to managers on minimising stress.

Departments: Surveys

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will place in the Library copies of her Department's employee surveys for  (a) 2005 and  (b) 2006.

Angela Smith: Staff surveys are valuable tools used by Departments to help them improve performance. The results of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister 2005 and 2006 surveys are available on the Civil Service website at:
	http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/management/statistics/news/staff_survey/index.asp

Fire Services

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on how many occasions  (a) retained appliances have been off the run due to lack of staffing and  (b) other appliances have then been mobilised as a result for each fire authority in each of the last five years.

Angela Smith: The information requested is not held centrally.

Fire Services

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will place in the Library copies of all valid operational guidance issued to fire and rescue authorities.

Angela Smith: The Department is currently in the process of reviewing all operational guidance issued to the fire and rescue service. As it is likely that this project will result in the review, re-issue or withdrawal of some of the considerable body of existing guidance, it is my view that placing all operational guidance in the Library now would not be a good use of resources. Recently issued Operational Guidance for the Fire and Rescue Service is available on the Communities and Local Government website, and a substantial proportion of older guidance such as Fire and Rescue Service Manuals is available from the Stationery Office. In the medium term, I would see guidance being made available electronically and, as this is of an operational nature, I have no plans to place this in the Library.

Fire Services

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when the Centre of Excellence for the Fire Service will be created; and what consultation her Department has held with the Fire Brigades Union on the matter.

Angela Smith: Proposals for a Centre of Excellence for the Fire and Rescue Service are being developed with a view to consultation in the autumn. A decision on whether to create a new body will be taken following consultation. All the Fire and Rescue Service trade unions, including the Fire Brigades Union are represented on the Sounding Board established by the Fire and Rescue Service Practitioners Forum to consider Centre of Excellence proposals.

Fire Services: Standards

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government from what point response times are measured for the fire service in each regional control centre area.

Angela Smith: The Regional Control Centre network will record response times from the point at which the public telecommunications operator routes a call to the regional control centres.

Housing: Greater London

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many dwellings were  (a) constructed for private sale,  (b) built by housing associations and  (c) built by local authorities in each London borough in each of the last three years.

Yvette Cooper: Information on new house building activity by tenure, in London, between 2004-05 and 2006-07 is set out in the following tables. The figures on total and local authority dwellings are as reported from building control inspections by local authorities and the National Housebuilding Council. The figures on registered social landlords (RSLs) are based on information from the Housing Corporation and refer to new social rent only and exclude acquisitions and intermediate (e.g. low cost home ownership) housing.
	The two sources are not directly comparable which means that timing differences may result in the RSL dwellings exceeding the total dwellings for some years in particular authorities.
	
		
			  House building: permanent dwellings completed by tenure, London 
			   2004-05 
			   Private  Registered social landlords( 1)  Local authorities  Total 
			 Barking and Dagenham 466 110 0 576 
			 Barnet 1,186 140 0 1,326 
			 Bexley 207 14 0 221 
			 Brent 234 156 0 390 
			 Bromley 828 46 0 874 
			 Camden 361 138 0 499 
			 City of London 21 24 0 45 
			 Croydon 291 100 0 391 
			 Ealing 434 171 0 605 
			 Enfield 333 191 0 524 
			 Greenwich 1,466 110 0 1,576 
			 Hackney 323 202 0 525 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 122 159 0 281 
			 Haringey 449 120 0 569 
			 Harrow 203 35 0 238 
			 Havering 388 69 0 457 
			 Hillingdon 389 84 0 473 
			 Hounslow 703 74 0 777 
			 Islington — 167 0 166 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 112 8 0 120 
			 Kingston upon Thames 298 127 0 425 
			 Lambeth 461 91 0 552 
			 Lewisham 160 341 0 501 
			 Merton 513 88 0 601 
			 Newham 356 197 0 553 
			 Redbridge 607 43 0 650 
			 Richmond upon Thames 400 112 0 512 
			 Southwark 1,578 254 0 1,832 
			 Sutton 481 189 0 670 
			 Tower Hamlets 2,796 156 0 2,952 
			 Waltham Forest 265 28 0 293 
			 Wandsworth 1,170 90 0 1,260 
			 Westminster (City of) 361 142 0 503 
		
	
	
		
			   2005-06 
			   Private  Registered social landlords( 1)  Local authorities  Total 
			 Barking and Dagenham 284 183 0 467 
			 Barnet 381 216 0 597 
			 Bexley 94 46 0 140 
			 Brent 106 145 0 251 
			 Bromley 175 199 0 374 
			 Camden 347 53 0 400 
			 City of London — 178 0 41 
			 Croydon 244 156 0 400 
			 Ealing 525 177 0 702 
			 Enfield 536 167 0 703 
			 Greenwich 959 114 0 1,073 
			 Hackney 246 107 0 353 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 65 66 0 131 
			 Haringey — 220 0 79 
			 Harrow 262 13 0 275 
			 Havering 480 6 0 486 
			 Hillingdon 232 70 4 306 
			 Hounslow 1,098 94 0 1,192 
			 Islington 185 198 0 383 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 41 34 0 75 
			 Kingston upon Thames 184 4 0 188 
			 Lambeth 375 284 0 659 
			 Lewisham 256 184 0 440 
			 Merton 853 95 0 948 
			 Newham 623 173 0 796 
			 Redbridge 934 29 0 963 
			 Richmond upon Thames 323 60 0 383 
			 Southwark 906 214 0 1,120 
			 Sutton 179 221 0 400 
			 Tower Hamlets 1,252 666 0 1,918 
			 Waltham Forest 148 108 0 256 
			 Wandsworth 329 9 0 338 
			 Westminster (City of) 172 243 0 415 
		
	
	
		
			   2006-07 
			   Private  Registered social landlords( 1)  Local authorities  Total 
			 Barking and Dagenham — — 0 684 
			 Barnet — — 0 377 
			 Bexley — — 0 212 
			 Brent — — 0 632 
			 Bromley — — 0 484 
			 Camden — — 0 378 
			 City of London — — 0 2 
			 Croydon — — 0 845 
			 Ealing — — 0 1,325 
			 Enfield — — 0 998 
			 Greenwich — — 0 1,134 
			 Hackney — — 0 420 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham — — 0 202 
			 Haringey — — 0 35 
			 Harrow — — 0 320 
			 Havering — — 0 650 
			 Hillingdon — — 2 194 
			 Hounslow — — 0 1,556 
			 Islington — — 0 743 
			 Kensington and Chelsea — — 0 139 
			 Kingston upon Thames — — 0 172 
			 Lambeth — — 0 942 
			 Lewisham — — 0 457 
			 Merton — — 0 646 
			 Newham — — 0 471 
			 Redbridge — — 0 513 
			 Richmond upon Thames — — 0 159 
			 Southwark — — 0 512 
			 Sutton — — 0 455 
			 Tower Hamlets — — 0 1,904 
			 Waltham Forest — — 0 394 
			 Wandsworth — — 0 722 
			 Westminster (City of) — — 0 211 
			 (1) Figures shown for registered social landlords exclude intermediate housing which is classified as private. Figures are new build only and exclude dwellings gained through acquisitions.  Note Information needed to determine the full tenure breakdown in 2006-07 is currently unavailable.  Source: P2 and HSSA returns from local authorities and the National Housebuilding Council (NHBC), Housing Corporation.

Local Government

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was spent by  (a) local authorities in England and  (b) City of York council on employing staff, including education staff, in (i) 2002-03 and (ii) 2005-06; and what the percentage change was in expenditure on staff over that period.

Phil Woolas: The information requested is listed in the following table.
	
		
			  Employee expenditure( 1) 
			   2002-03  (£ billion)  2005-06  (£ billion)  Between 2002-03 and 2005-06( 2)  (Percentage change) 
			 City of York council 0.106 0.139 31.1 
			 England 44.345 55.515 25.2 
			 (1) Total expenditure on employees as reported by authorities to Communities and Local Government on revenue outturn (RO) forms. This includes all direct and indirect employee expenses and contributions to employee-related provisions, including national insurance contributions, pensions and employee related expenses. (2) Comparisons across years may not be valid due to changes in the method of reporting the information. In particular, the outturn data for 2002-03 have been calculated on a non-FRS (financial reporting standard) 17 basis whilst the outturn data for 2005-06 have been calculated on an FRS 17 basis. Hence, figures for the different years may not be directly comparable.

Local Government Finance

Peter Soulsby: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many local authority population estimates used in the calculations to inform the 2007-08 local government funding settlement have been more than 5,000 people lower than official estimates of the population in those authorities.

Phil Woolas: The 2007-08 Settlement uses population projections data for 2007 produced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) as the key driver of population in the settlement calculations. For all data used in settlement calculations we have to use the best data available on a consistent basis for all authorities that are available at the time of making the settlement. At the time of making the multi-year settlements for 2006-07 and 2007-08, the best population projections data available were the 2003-based sub-national population projections produced by the ONS. These data were published on 25 November 2004.
	The most recently published ONS mid-year population estimates are those for mid-2005, published on 24 August 2006.
	Comparing the two sets of data: 12 local authorities, five police authorities and four fire and rescue authorities have their 2003-based projected population data for 2007 5,000 or more lower than their mid-2005 population estimate.

Local Government Finance

Judy Mallaber: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local authorities met the deadline of 31 May 2007 to apply for directions to capitalise equal pay back pay from 2007-08.

Phil Woolas: We have received applications from the following authorities, all of which met the deadline:
	Basildon
	Bedfordshire
	Bexley
	Birmingham
	Blackburn with Darwen
	Blackpool
	Bolton
	Brighton and Hove
	Bromley
	Bury
	Cheshire
	City of Nottingham
	Cumbria
	Darlington
	Daventry
	Dudley
	Greenwich
	Hammersmith and Fulham
	Haringey
	Havering
	Kingston upon Hull
	Knowsley
	Leeds
	Lewisham
	Luton
	Merton
	Middlesbrough
	Newark and Sherwood
	Newcastle upon Tyne
	Newham
	North Tyneside
	Northamptonshire
	Oldham
	Peterborough
	Plymouth
	Portsmouth
	Preston
	Redcar and Cleveland
	Rotherham
	Salford
	Sefton
	Sheffield
	South Tyneside
	Stafford
	Staffordshire
	Stevenage
	Stockton-on-Tees
	Stoke-on-Trent
	Trafford
	Wakefield
	Waltham Forest
	Warrington
	Wear Valley
	Wirral
	Wolverhampton
	York

Local Government Finance: Swindon

Michael Wills: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  how much was provided in grants from central Government to Swindon borough council in 2006-07;
	(2)  how much she expects to be provided in grants from central Government to Swindon borough council in 2007-08.

Phil Woolas: The amount of Government grant Swindon borough council budgeted to receive in 2006-07 and is budgeting to receive in 2007-08 is tabled as follows.
	
		
			  £000 
			   Revenue support grant  Redistributed non-domestic rates  Specific and special grants inside aggregate external finance 
			 2006-07(1) 7,190 37,248 134,276 
			 2007-08(2) 6,526 38,885 n/a 
			  Sources: (1) Communities and Local Government Revenue Account Budget Return (2) Communities and Local Government Budget Requirement Return 
		
	
	Budget estimates for specific and special grants inside aggregate external finance in 2007-08 are not yet available.
	Figures exclude grants outside aggregate external finance (i.e. where funding is not for the authority's core services, but is passed to a third party; for example, as in the case of mandatory student awards), capital grants, funding for the local authority's housing management responsibilities and those grant programmes (such as European funding) where the authority is simply one of the recipients of funding paid towards an area.

Local Government: Reform

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the impact on coterminosity of boundaries between primary care trusts and local government areas will be a criterion for assessing new local government structure proposals.

Phil Woolas: The criteria for assessing councils' unitary proposals were set out in the "Invitations to councils in England" published in October 2006.

Local Government: Standards

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many best value performance indicators in total have been required of local authorities in each year since the introduction of Best Value.

Phil Woolas: Best Value Performance Indicators (BVPIs) were introduced in 2000-01. Details of the number of BVPIs that have been set for local authorities in each year since then are set out in the table.
	
		
			   Number 
			 2000-01 189 
			 2001-02 123 
			 2002-03 93 
			 2003-04 98 
			 2004-05 97 
			 2005-06 94 
			 2006-07 90 
			 2007-08 86

Local Government: Standards

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many shire counties moved to a rating for excellent in the comprehensive performance assessment by the Audit Commission in the last 12 months; and if she will list them.

Phil Woolas: This is an operational matter for the Audit Commission and I have asked the Chief Executive to write to the hon. Member.
	 Letter from Steve Bundred, dated 27 June 2007:
	Your parliamentary question on how many shire counties moved to a rating for excellent in the comprehensive performance assessment by the Audit Commission in the last 12 months and your request to list them has been passed to me for reply.
	Under section 99 of the Local Government Act 2003 the Audit Commission has a duty, from time to time, to report on its findings and categorise English local authorities according to their performance in exercising their functions. CPA is the tool that the Commission uses to fulfil this duty.
	In 2005 the Audit Commission revised the CPA framework in response to changes in the operational and regulatory environment, rising public expectations, and the performance of local government itself. Because the framework from 2005 is both a harder and a different test the CPA categories were renamed to reflect this change. As a result single tier and county councils are no longer categorised as excellent, good, fair, weak or poor. The five new categories introduced from 2005 were 4 stars (reflecting the highest category of performance), 3 stars, 2 stars, 1 star and 0 stars.
	National CPA reporting for single tier and county councils last took place in February 2007. At the time of reporting there were eight county councils that improved their overall CPA category to 4 star. These councils were:
	(a) Cheshire
	(b) Dorset
	(c) Norfolk
	(d) North Yorkshire
	(e) Oxfordshire
	(f) Suffolk
	(g) West Sussex
	(h) Wiltshire
	Following national reporting in February 2007, Somerset County Council was re-categorised as 4 star as part of the Audit Commission's quarterly reporting arrangements in March 2007 following a corporate assessment.
	Further information about the CPA framework and scores is available at www.audit-commission.gov.uk/cpa.
	A copy of this letter will be placed in the House of Commons Library.

Non-Domestic Rates

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will place in the Library a copy of the internal guidance or training manual produced by the Valuation Office Agency for its staff on undertaking assessment casework for business rates valuations.

Phil Woolas: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) on 28 March 2007,  Official Report, columns 1596-97W.

Preventing Violent Extremism Pathfinder Fund

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the funding for the Preventing Violent Extremism Pathfinder Fund is additional funding that was not previously granted to local authorities in previous years through other named funds.

Ruth Kelly: The £6 million funding for the Preventing Violent Extremism Pathfinder Fund was sourced from the New Ventures Fund.

Travellers

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which company is making good the work on the Travellers' site at Ecton Lane following the completion of the refurbishment contract.

Meg Munn: Westgate Technical Services Ltd. have been issued with a comprehensive schedule of the remedial works needed to achieve the requirements set out in the contract specification. They have been asked to complete these works within three weeks. Work on perimeter fencing and floodlighting is being undertaken by separate contractors.

Travellers

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government who is responsible for the management of the Ecton Lane Travellers' site.

Meg Munn: Northampton borough council own and are ultimately responsible for the Ecton Lane Travellers' site.
	The day to day management of the site was undertaken by Westgate Management Services Ltd. until 13 April 2007. I understand that the Gypsy Council was awarded a short term contract for the day to day management of the site from 1 May 2007, while long-term arrangements are put in place.

Valuation Office

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on what date the Valuation Office Agency's electronic image management bespoke application went live for operational use.

Phil Woolas: The VOA's existing electronic image management system "Digital Photography" was implemented in 2004.

Valuation Office

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the total estimated expenditure has been by the Valuation Office Agency on its automated valuation model on  (a) consultancy costs,  (b) payments to CapGemini and CLT,  (c) hardware costs,  (d) staffing costs and  (e) other costs.

Phil Woolas: Prior to postponement of the council tax revaluation in England, announced in September 2005, expenditure on developing the Valuation Office Agency's (VOA's) automated valuation model (AVM) amounted to some £10 million. Since that time approximately £3.2 million has been spent by the VOA on consultancy and IT development, hardware and support costs associated with securing the investment in the AVM. This will allow the AVM to be used as a support for the Agency's day-to-day work, including maintenance of council tax valuation lists. Staffing costs since postponement associated with developing and maintaining the AVM are not recorded separately.

Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council: Dismissal

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will ensure that the District Auditor's report on the dismissal by Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council of Peter Francis and related matters is published by the end of June 2007; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 25 June 2007
	Publication of this report is a matter for the District Auditor. The Government will carry out a full assessment of the report at the earliest opportunity.

HEALTH

Cancer: Research

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding from the public purse was provided for cancer treatment research in each year since 1992.

Rosie Winterton: The Department does not collect expenditure data at the level requested. The available information on total expenditure by the Department on cancer research is shown in the table. Details of individual projects supported in the national health services can be found on the national research register at www.dh.gov.uk/research.
	
		
			   £ million 
			 1997-98 53 
			 1998-99 75.4 
			 1999-2000 77.4 
			 2000-01 83.8 
			 2001-02 113.4 
			 2002-03 124.1 
			 2003-04 139.8 
			 2004-05 150.3 
			 2005-06 168 
		
	
	The Research Councils are also important funders of cancer research. The research councils are independent bodies funded by the Department of Trade and Industry via the Office of Science and Innovation.
	Since 2001, the major funders of cancer research in the United Kingdom, including the Department and the Medical Research Council, have been working in partnership to streamline cancer research in the UK for the benefit of cancer patients. This partnership, the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI), has the role of maintaining strategic oversight of cancer research in the UK, identifying gaps and opportunities and co-ordinating the funding activities of the partner organisations.
	The NCRI's most recent strategic analysis of the directly funded cancer research supported by Government and charities showed that, as at 1 April 2004, 19 per cent. of total funding was dedicated to supporting research on cancer treatment. The analysis forms part of the Institute's three-year progress report 2001-04 and is available at www.ncri.org.uk.

Cholesterol: Elderly

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations she has received on the effects of cholesterol on the health of older people; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The Department has not received any representations regarding the effects of cholesterol on the health of older people.
	However, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence is due to consult on draft recommendations on cardiovascular risk assessment and the modification of blood lipids (cholesterol) for the primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The consultation will be open until 22 August 2007.
	The draft guideline is expected to address the issue of identifying those most likely to be at higher risk of developing CVD. Age is one of the risk factors involved.

Community Health Services: Coventry

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans her Department has for community health care services in Coventry.

Caroline Flint: Decisions about community health care services in Coventry need to be taken locally with the involvement of local people. However, we know from the listening exercise that preceded the "Our health, our care, our say" White Paper that the public want more local and convenient care closer to home even where that means changes to local hospital services.

Diabetes

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) adults and  (b) children were diagnosed with diabetes, broken down by type, in each year since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: Information on the number of children and adults with diabetes is not available in the exact form requested. The following information is available for diagnosed diabetes. The total number of patients aged 17 and over on practice registers in England who have an appropriate diabetes diagnosis in 2004-05 was 1.77 million people (Source: 2004-05 Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) data published by the Information Centre for health and social care.) This is the first year of data from this source.
	The total number of patients aged 17 and over on practice registers in England who have an appropriate diabetes diagnosis in 2005-06 was 1.89 million people. (Source: 2005-06 QOF data published by the Information Centre for health and social care.)
	It is estimated that over 90 per cent. of people with diabetes have type two diabetes.
	 Notes:
	The difference between 1.77 million in 2004-05 and 1.89 million in 2005-06 does not mean that extra 0.12 million patients were diagnosed within those 12 months. The figures are a function of diagnosis recording on practice registers, and therefore were subject to data quality review in that period, as the QOF was being established.
	Patients with diabetes aged under 17 are not included because they are regarded as receiving their diabetes management in the secondary care sector.

Health Professions: Employment

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of  (a) midwives,  (b) doctors,  (c) nurses,  (d) occupational therapists and  (e) physiotherapists who have graduated or completed their training since May 2006 have (i) obtained and (ii) not obtained NHS jobs in the field in which they trained in each English region.

Rosie Winterton: This information is not collected centrally.

Health Services: Essex

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the most recent figures are for the financial position of  (a) the Mid Essex Hospital Trust and  (b) the Mid Essex primary care trust;
	(2)  when she expects  (a) the Mid Essex Hospital Trust and  (b) the Mid Essex primary care trust to reach a break-even financial position.

Andy Burnham: At quarter four 2006-07 Mid Essex National Health Service Hospital Trust had a provisional outturn deficit of £1.3 million and Mid Essex primary care trust (PCT) had a provisional outturn deficit of £17.8 million.
	Although the NHS overall delivered a net surplus of £510 million in 2006-07, we recognise that a small number of organisations continue to face significant financial challenges.
	Financial recovery is only possible if clinicians and managers work together to deliver savings, increase efficiency and reduce deficits. Despite financial difficulties, all parts of the NHS are consistently delivering for patients against national priorities.
	We have received financial plans for 2007-08 and these are now subject to final validation and sign-off with the NHS. At this stage, Mid Essex PCT is aiming to reach break-even position in this current financial year and Mid Essex NHS Hospital Trust aiming to recover its break-even duty by 2009.

Health Services: Prisons

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding she provided for prison healthcare in each of the last three years.

Rosie Winterton: Over the last three years, the amount spent on medical and psychiatric care for prisoners in England has increased as follows:
	
		
			  Expenditure on prison healthcare in England 2004-05 to 2006-07( 1) 
			  £ 
			 2004-05 158,002,000 
			 2005-06 177,511,000 
			 2006-07 (2)189,319,000 
			 (1) The figures quoted include amount spend on mental health in-reach services in both publicly and privately managed prisons. (2) The figure for 2006-07 also includes an amount to cover the cost of implementing Agenda for Change, backdated to October 2004, for prison healthcare staff who have transferred to the NHS.  Source: Department of Health Notes: 
		
	
	The 2007-08 allocation currently stands at £198,999,000. This figure will increase based on additional funding from the National Offender Management Service to reflect in-year changes in prison capacity.

Health Services: Prisons

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what level of access to  (a) prescription medicines and  (b) psychiatric care prisoners have.

Rosie Winterton: The Government are committed to providing a health service to prisoners that is equivalent in quality and range to that in the wider community. Prisoners are entitled to the same range and quality of services provided and commissioned by the national health service as is received by the general public.
	Primary care trusts (PCTs) which host prisons became responsible for commissioning services to meet the healthcare needs of prisoners in April 2006.
	In each prison, a patient focused, primary care based pharmacy service, based on identified need, should be provided to prisoners as recommended in the document 'A Pharmacy Service for Prisoners' (Department of Health 2003). Copies have been placed in the Library, and are available on the Department's website.
	Similarly, for mental health services, all prisoners receive health screening on reception into prison. Prisoners who are identified as needing further psychiatric help can be referred to a mental health in-reach team, who will arrange further assessment and follow up referral.
	Investment in prison mental health in-reach services has been steadily increasing, with nearly £20 million invested in these services each year since 2004-05, and 360 whole time equivalent staff employed, more than the initial commitment in the NHS Plan to create 300 posts.
	People who are mentally too ill to remain in prison should be transferred to hospital. We have introduced tighter monitoring to identify prisoners waiting an unacceptably long period for transfer to hospital, and a protocol was issued to prisons and primary care trusts in October 2005 setting out what must be done when a prisoner has been waiting for a hospital place for more than three months following acceptance by the NHS.
	These measures have helped bring about positive results. In 2006, 33 per cent. more prisoners, with mental illness too severe for prison, were transferred to hospital than in 2002—up to 961 from 723. There has been a significant decrease in the number of people waiting over 12 weeks for a transfer—in the quarter ending March 2007, 40 prisoners were waiting, down from 51 in the same quarter in 2005.

Heart Diseases: Health Education

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the trainers proposed in the 2004 White Paper, Choosing Health, Making Healthy Choices Easier, will be trained to give advice on lifestyle changes and minimising the risks of cardiovascular disease; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: Health trainers are trained to meet a mandatory set of core competences. Skills for Health has worked with representatives from the British Psychological Society and for the Department to take forward the development of national competences for the role of health trainer.
	The competences have been quality assured and approved as national occupational standards.
	Health trainers focus on enabling people to change their behaviour in relation to a number of lifestyle factors such as smoking, reducing alcohol intake, physical exercise, healthy eating, all of which would help minimise the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Hospital Beds: Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Hospitals Trust

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many beds are available within the Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Hospital Trust; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: In 2005-06, the latest period for which data is available, there was an average daily number of 873 available beds provided by Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust. These consisted of beds open overnight and day only beds.
	 Source:
	Department of Health KH03 return.

Infant Mortality

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many births took place at  (a) Sussex County hospital, Brighton,  (b) Worthing hospital,  (c) St Richards hospital, Chichester,  (d) the Conquest hospital, Hastings,  (e) Eastbourne hospital and  (f) Princess Royal, Haywards Heath in 2006; and what the peri-natal mortality rate was for children born at each of the above hospitals in each of the last three years.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 25 June 2007:
	As the National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your question about how many births took place in 2006 in  (a) Sussex County hospital, Brighton;  (b) Worthing hospital;  (c) St Richards Hospital, Chichester; (d) The Conquest hospital, Hastings;  (e) Eastbourne hospital; and  (f) Princess Royal hospital, Haywards Heath; and what the peri-natal mortality rate was for children born at each of the above hospitals. (145844)
	Figures on live births in hospitals are available from birth registration information. The latest available data by place of birth are for 2005 and are shown in the following table .
	
		
			  Number of live births—2005 
			 Sussex County Hospital, Brighton 3,142 
			 Worthing Hospital 2,441 
			 St Richards Hospital, Chichester 2,208 
			 The Conquest Hospital, Hastings 1,539 
			 Eastbourne Hospital 1,758 
			 Princess Royal Hospital, Haywards Heath 2,122 
		
	
	The peri-natal mortality rate is defined as stillbirths and deaths aged under one week per 1,000 live and stillbirths. Peri-natal mortality rates by hospital are not available for reasons of confidentiality of stillbirth information.

Leukaemia: Drugs

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps her Department is taking to assess Dasatinib for the treatment of chronic lymphoblastic leukaemia  (a) in the first instance and  (b) after prior therapy with Imatinib; how many representations she has received on Dasatinib; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: Dasatinib is licensed for the treatment of adults with chronic, accelerated or blast phase chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) with resistance or intolerance to prior therapy including Imatinib. Dasatinib is also licensed for the treatment of adults with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and lymphoid blast CML with resistance or intolerance to prior therapy. The Department has no plans to commission a further assessment of Dasatinib at this time.
	It will be for primary care trusts at a local level to decide whether to make this drug available to patients who might benefit from it.
	The Department has received a number of representations about Dasatinib in the form of written correspondence and parliamentary questions.

Maternity Services: East Sussex

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the future of maternity services at the Conquest hospital in East Sussex.

Ivan Lewis: It is for the local national health service, in partnership with strategic health authorities and other local stakeholders, to plan, develop and improve services. Local solutions will meet the needs of local patients and communities. However, any proposed changes to services will only happen after full public consultation with local people.

NHS Foundation Trusts

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average cost has been of establishing an NHS hospital as a foundation trust.

Andy Burnham: Information on the cost of a national health service trust preparing an application for NHS foundation trust (NHSFT) status is not held centrally, as costs will vary from trust to trust.
	The decision on when to apply for foundation status is one which is taken locally. Applicant trusts are responsible for meeting the costs associated with their application and establishment as a NHSFT. The continued rollout of NHSFTs provides for the sharing of information and best practice between applicants and NHSFTs. The Department also continues to provide a centrally provided programme of support.

Obesity

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) adults and  (b) children were classed as clinically obese, broken down by (i) strategic health authority and (ii) primary care trust in each year since 1997.

Caroline Flint: The information is not available in the format requested. Data on adult obesity prevalence by strategic health authority (SHA) is collected in the Health Survey for England (HSE). For adults, we can provide age standardised data for the years 1997-99 to 2000-02, and observed values for 2002-04. Age-standardised figures take account of the age profile of the population living in an area, making for more reliable comparisons between areas, whereas observed values do not. This information is given in Table 1, which has been placed in the Library.
	Estimates of prevalence of obesity amongst adults based on 2000-02 data by primary care organisation (PCO) are also available. PCO represent both primary care trusts (PCTs), and care trusts. These estimates represent the prevalence of obesity for any PCO based on the population characteristics of that area. The estimates have been generated using a model-based method that combined individual-level data from the Health Survey for England (HSE) with area-level measures of population characteristics from the 2001 Census and from administrative datasets. The estimates of prevalence along with associated confidence intervals by PCO are provided in Table 2, which has been placed in the Library.
	Data on obesity prevalence among children is not available by SHA or PCT. However, data on obesity prevalence by Government Office Region is available from the HSE and we are able to provide data for 2002-04 combined. This information is given in Table 3, which has been placed in the Library.

Psychology: Waiting Lists

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the Government have set waiting times for access to psychological therapies on the NHS.

Rosie Winterton: Currently no waiting times targets for access to psychological therapies have been set by the Department. The two Improving Access to Psychological Therapy (IAPT) demonstration sites have made significant progress in reducing local waiting times and improving access to effective services. In addition, 10 new IAPT pathfinder sites are soon to be developed to increase access to treatment. These sites will test out proposed standards including appropriate access times for different stages of treatment as detailed in the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence's guidelines.

Strokes: Rehabilitation

Judy Mallaber: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans her Department has to increase funding allocated to research into the long-term care and rehabilitation of people who have had a stroke; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: Implementation of the Department's research strategy "Best Research for Best Health" will result in an expansion of our research programmes and in significant new funding opportunities for health research. In particular, the Oxford and Newcastle Biomedical Research Centres, formed this year, propose to undertake research on stroke for which a five year centrally funded budget of some £5 million has been approved. Other biomedical research centres will undertake research on stroke as part of broader-based research themes.
	In addition, the Department's National Institute for Health Research has recently awarded five stroke-related programme grants with a total value of £7 million, and is investing £20 million over five years in the UK Stroke Research Network set up in 2005. The network is supporting clinical trials and other well designed studies conducted by public and private sector funders.

Tuberculosis: Immigrants

Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements are made for the screening for tuberculosis of immigrants arriving  (a) legally and  (b) illegally if apprehended at the Port of Dover.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 15 May 2007
	I have been asked to reply.
	Immigrants arriving at Dover will already have passed through the juxtaposed border control in Continental Europe. If the arriving passengers are residents of a country where pre-entry screening is required then they will already have been screened for tuberculosis.
	Illegal entrants who are apprehended at Dover may be detained at a police station and would be referred for a medical examination if necessary. If detained at an immigration removal centre they are required under the Detention Centre Rules 2001 to be given a medical examination within 24 hours of admission subject to their consent.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Departments: Consultants

Michael Meacher: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much his Department spent on  (a) management consultants and  (b) other external consultants and advisers in each year since establishment; and which of these consultants undertook work for the Department with a total contractual value in excess of £10 million.

John Prescott: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for North-East Hertfordshire (Mr. Heald) on 23 October 2006,  Official Report, column 1626W.

Departments: Home Working

David Simpson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many people in his Department have been allowed to work from home for part of the week in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement on his Department's policy on home working.

John Prescott: Staff in my Office are seconded from the Department for Communities and Local Government, and I therefore refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by the Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, my hon. Friend the Member for Basildon (Angela E. Smith) on 21 June 2007,  Official Report, column 2099W.

Departments: Joint Ministerial Committee

Oliver Heald: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 19 June 2007,  Official Report, column 1671W, on what date the Deputy Prime Minister last attended a meeting of the Joint Ministerial Committee.

John Prescott: I last attended a meeting of the Joint Ministerial Committee on Europe (JMC(E)) in July 2005.

Departments: Manpower

David Simpson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  how many people granted  (a) temporary part-time,  (b) temporary full-time,  (c) permanent part-time and  (d) permanent full-time contracts of employment in his Department since its establishment were (i) male, (ii) female, (iii) registered disabled and (iv) aged 55 years or over;
	(2)  what percentage of staff in his Department are  (a) male,  (b) female,  (c) registered disabled and  (d) aged 55 or over.

John Prescott: As stated in the departmental Annual Report, copies of which are available in the Library of the House, my Office employed 19.8 full-time equivalent staff. Of these, 40 per cent. were female and 60 per cent. were male. Where the information requested results in figures of less than five this is not released in order to protect the privacy of individuals.

Departments: Sick Leave

David Simpson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what percentage of sick leave taken by staff in his Department was stress-related in each year since establishment.

John Prescott: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 14 May 2007,  Official Report, column 536W.

Members: Correspondence

David Lidington: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he will reply to the letter to him from Buckinghamshire county council of 22 March 2006, which enclosed a petition from residents of Aylesbury and the Bypass Aylesbury Now Group, and which was followed up by a letter to his office from Buckinghamshire county council, dated 26 April 2007.

Angela Smith: I have been asked to reply.
	The issues raised in the correspondence were discussed when my noble Friend Baroness Andrews met with representatives of the local authority and others on 20 April 2006. We have no record of the letter dated 26 April 2007.

West Indies

Norman Baker: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the cost to the public purse was of his recent trip to the West Indies.

John Prescott: This Government publish an annual list of Cabinet Ministers' travel overseas costing over £500, along with the total cost of all ministerial travel. Information for 2007-08 will be published as soon as it is ready at the end of the financial year.
	All travel is in accordance with the Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers.